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- NATION, Page 25American NotesRUNAWAYSMore Anguish At Covenant
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- Father Bruce Ritter, founder of Covenant House, the
- nation's most successful program for runaway teenagers, hoped
- that by resigning he would end the controversy that has engulfed
- the organization since four young men accused him of sexual
- misconduct. Instead, the turmoil mounted. The state attorney
- general has widened an investigation to include personal loans
- that Ritter and other Covenant House officials obtained from the
- organization, possibly in violation of state law.
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- To make matters worse, Frank Macchiarola, who became
- Covenant House's acting president after Ritter was suspended by
- his religious order while it investigated the allegations of
- sexual misconduct, also quit. One explanation for his departure
- was that Ritter urged the board of directors to seek a nun or
- priest as his permanent replacement and appoint his longtime
- deputy James Harnett, a layman, as interim head. With the
- group's credibility compromised, the loan revelations may
- endanger its fund-raising ability -- and its ministry to the
- young.
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