European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 5, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 a a the stars and stripes sunday August 5,1990marino Atlanta apr the resignation of the nations highest ranking Black roman Catholic Clergyman because he was intimate with a woman has renewed Calls from critics of mandatory priestly celibacy for a change in Church policy Atlanta archbishop Eugene Marino resigned last month he cause of his two year relationship with a Lay minister Vicki r. Long Church officials confirmed this week. They previously said he resigned for health reasons. Long 27, has filed a monetary claim against the archdiocese for a undisclosed amount. Neither Marino nor Long has com Man cd about their relationship. Bishop James p. Lyke the acting administrator of the Atlanta archdiocese would not say whether the relationship was sexual describing it Only As a intimate a Lyke sought to play Down any questioning of Church Law on celibacy which dates from the , a i Don t think one mistake provides an occasion to bring about a discussion of celibacy a he said. But advocates for optional celibacy. Within the Church say Marinous prominence will provoke debate and Call the celibacy requirement an eroding Symbol of Church misogyny. Pope John Paul ii strongly supports the requirement. During his 1987 visit to the United states he said that a priests love for Christ must be Paramount and is a at the foundation of our commitment to Coli Bacy. This love also makes it possible for us As servants of gods kingdom to love our people freely and chastely and  but Richard Mcbrien chairman of the theology department at the University of notre Dame docs not agree with the churches stand on celibacy. Quot celibacy is unrealistic and its counterproductive now a he said. A the Priesthood As we be known it is falling apart. Because of a stubborn refusal to  Mcbrien said about 15 percent of priests have resigned since 1970 and officials expect Seminary applications to decline 40 percent by the year 2000. Cathy Grenier of Good tidings a Pennsylvania support group for women and priests said Catholic mandatory celibacy also is a feminist Issue. Quot the attitude toward women is that if a priest touches a woman he a tainted Quot said Grenier who married a former priest. Quot if women were not believed in in spurs anti former archbishop Eugene Marino sits with Vicki Long in an undated photo that w As obtained by an Atlanta to station. He gently evil and dirty the Crew a be no problem with marrying  Terrence Dosh who runs a National support group for priests who resigned then married said Marinous stature Drew attention to a widely disregarded Church problem. A in the past 25 years 19,000 american roman Catholic priests resigned and married and 110,000 in the world resigned and married a he said. A it takes the situation of a Bishop to draw attention to  Dosh and Mcbrien also said Marino s resignation could Hurt Black catholics who make up Only 2 million of the 53 million american catholics. Quot any Leader of a group who Falls they re Catholic Hierarchy ashamed about it a Dosh said. Quot the people in charge in Rome will be reluctant to put someone like him in his  said he feared that a people arc going to say a Well he is Black and. They have different sorts of urges and  that a racism of the worst kind but it will be an Effort on the part of certain figures in the Church to gloss it Marinous resignation  Lyke who is Black said he hoped any racial backlash would be minimal a the Church deals with racism internally Quot he said a it would be a terrible expression of racism if we retreated on our progress.�?�. The National conference of Catholic Bishops last year endorsed a National Black Catholic pastoral plan that Calls for integrating african american symbols into worship and increasing Black membership on Church policy making groups. The number of Black catholics in the United states has grown from 900,000 to 2 million in the past 20 years partly because of immigration from Haiti and the West indies. On Friday Bishop George a Stallings of Washington founder of the breakaway african american Catholic congregation asked Marino to join his congregation. A roman catholics intuitively know that archbishop Marinous dark night of the soul is not a personal failure but a failure. On the part of the roman Catholic Church to Deal realistically with the Issue that a Call to ordained ministry is not synonymous with celibacy a stalling Saiu in a statement. Stallings accused last year by a former altar boy of having a homosexual affair with him formed his own Independent congregation and declared new Church Laws contrary to roman Catholic teachings. His congregation allows birth control optional celibacy for clergy and ordination of women. Stallings would like to install Marino As an archbishop of his new congregation s Western diocese in los Angeles or its Southern diocese in new Orleans said William Marshall jr., a Stallings  Leader guilty of misconduct probes say new York up1 a the Rev. Bruce Ritter founder of covenant House spent the last 20 years engaged in sexual misconduct with Young men living at the nationally renowned Charity a shelters for runaway youths it was charged Friday. A report the result of a four month investigation ordered by covenant houses Board of directors concluded that had Ritter not resigned last february the Board would have been required to fire him. The  found that Ritter should have informed the Board about a $3110,000 Trust the priest established with the Charity a Money As Well As Loans he made to to o senior staff members. An earlier investigation into covenant House finances conducted by the Manhattan District attorney last february cleared Kilter of any wrongdoing but a separate state inquiry into the Trust and Loans is still underway. Stanley Ark in a lawyer for Ritter who has consistently denied allegations of sexual misconduct issued a statement condemning the Board for releasing the report asserting that the disgraced priest has already paid his debt to society. A some 150 covenant House staffers former employees and sex residents were questioned about the allegations against Ritter during the investigation headed by former new York City police chief Robert Mcguire five former residents told the investigators they had engaged in sexual activity with Ritter a sixth claimed the priest made advances to him that the Young Man rebuffed. Similar claims by at least four other former Resi dents could not be confirmed because one of the men reportedly has died while the three others could not be tracked Down by the investigators. The report concluded that while none of the allegations could be proved a beyond any question Quot Ritter had a exercised unacceptably poor judgment in his relations with certain residents Quot Over a period of time from 1970 to 1989. Quot it is our opinion that if father Ritter had not resigned the termination of the relationship Between him and covenant House would have been required Quot the report said. Ritter who is believed to be living in new Jersey refused to cooperate with the investigation. The 63-year-old priest was said to be considering leaving the franciscan  president s obscene Calls Spur lawsuit Washington apr the Virginia woman who received obscene phone Calls bom Richard Berend in when lie was president of  University said Friday site is seeking $11 million in damages Tor emotional stress on her and her family. Susan Allen of Fairfax ya., demanded $4 million from Merenden and $7 million from i lie University in a suit tiled i Tim Day m District of Columbia Superior court. Allen said Friday that the Calls had indicted Quot a life altering amount of stress and damage Quot on her and her family and had caused her to lie hospitalised. Tver since the Day after the first phone Call. I be been on heart medication and other medication to sleep a Allen s.ml.,"my life has definitely taken a very negative turn. My smallest child is terrified of any Man she  the University president s Calls to Allen began m starch in response to an advertisement for Home child care that she had placed in the w Ashington Post. Allen said he asked her if she would include her son in her sexual relations with her husband and said he had a female sex slave in his basement. Be rend on who remains a tenured professor at american resigned the presidency Ami entered the sexual disorders dime at Johns Hopkins unix Ersnt in Baltimore when an investigation revealed his office is As the source of the Calls. He later pleaded guilty to two Misdemeanour counts and was placed on Proba  a Allens lawsuit alleges american University did not act quickly enough once the Calls were traced to Berendzen a office on the Washington Campus. John Clifford her attorney said the school first confronted re Rand in with its findings and he then called Allen and Quot said she had destroyed his  Clifford said University officials did not pass their information to investigators until two Days after they had discussed the matter with Berendzen