BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW
March 26, 2018
The Buffalo Diocese has placed an active priest on administrative leave as it looks into allegations of child sexual abuse dating back to the 1990s, a spokesperson tells the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team.
The Rev. Dennis Riter is pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Dunkirk. He presided over the church’s Palm Sunday services yesterday and has led masses at the church for the past nine years.
According to the Official Catholic Directory, Father Riter served at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Buffalo’s Old First Ward from 1995 until 2001. An article in the Western New York Catholic states he went on a six-month sabbatical before then-Bishop Henry Mansell appointed him pastor of St. Mary’s in Batavia in 2002. He has served under two more bishops since then, with former Bishop Edward Kmiec transferring him to Dunkirk in 2009.
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