Voting Station

Bruce Ritter

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    (February 25, 1927-October 7, 1999)
    Born in Trenton, New Jersey
    Birth name was John Ritter
    Catholic priest and Franciscan friar
    Founded the charity Covenant House for homeless teenagers (1972)

Why he might be annoying:

    He served on Attorney General Ed Meese’s Commission on Pornography.
    He was forced to resign from Covenant House after four men went public with claims of having had sexual relationships with him starting in their teens (1990).
    An investigation by Kroll Associates commissioned by Covenant House concluded that he had either had sex with or made sexual advances to fifteen residents or volunteers at Covenant House.
    Al Goldstein’s TV program ‘Midnight Blue’ inducted him into their ‘Hall of Hypocrisy.’ (Especially given Ritter’s description of his mission as helping runaways ‘find a way out of the gutters and brothels and strip joints where their young bodies are in demand as objects of pleasure for lustful adults.’)
    There were also allegations of financial improprieties, ranging from ‘unorthodox’ loans to board members and Ritter’s sister to use of a secret trust fund to conceal part of Ritter’s salary.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He had been a popular teacher of theology at Manhattan College before founding Covenant House.
    When he first started a ministry on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, his apartment was frequently broken into and robbed; once, the thieves made off with his religious vestments.
    In its peak years under Ritter, Covenant House was spending three times as much on runaways as the federal government.
    The Manhattan District Attorney concluded that the financial irregularities did not violate the law and declined to press charges.
    He asked, ‘What kind of society lets kids sleep in the streets?’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 11 Votes: 36.36% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying