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	Seminary off Limits to Walkathon By Bob Susnjara and Madhu Krishnamurthy Daily Herald [Chicago IL] March 8, 2006 http://www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=164287 Citing fears about "unwelcome scrutiny" for Carmel Catholic High School, the Chicago archdiocese will not allow the school's walkathon on a neighboring seminary in Mundelein where priests accused of sexual misconduct with minors live. Now, Carmel must find another place to hold its walk after about 15 consecutive years at University of St. Mary of the Lake on Route 176. Carmel marketing director Dawn Jenich said the switch shouldn't affect how much money is raised for the 1,350-student private school. Archdiocese of Chicago officials sent a letter to Carmel last week stating the sprawling, picturesque seminary land is unavailable for the April 28 walk. Archdiocese spokesman Jim Dwyer said the decision spares Carmel officials from being questioned about priests accused of sexual wrongdoing. "We thought it was the prudent thing to do. The reason behind it is they should be able to raise funds for their walkathon without unwelcome scrutiny," Dwyer said. Carmel board member Vito Grimaldi said he's confident the school will find another venue for the walk. He said he did not begrudge the archdiocese's stance on the seminary. "They have the right to say whether we can be there or not, and we respect their decision," he said. "We are very conscious of our image and don't want it tarnished by any outside influences the school can't control." Mundelein police were alerted about the archdiocese's decision to not host the Carmel walk at the seminary. Police Chief Raymond Rose said he believes the archdiocese made the correct move. "Because of all the recent publicity and the current environment, there's questions on both sides on if this is something they want to do," Rose said. In past years, more than 1,000 Carmel students and faculty have gone across Route 176 to the seminary grounds and walked two laps, or 6.2 miles. About $100,000 was raised in last year's walk, which has mandatory student participation. Twelve priests accused of sexual improprieties under Catholic Church law live in a former retreat house at the seminary near Carmel, according to Mundelein police documents. Another priest at the house, 67-year-old Ralph Strand, is a registered sex offender who was convicted under civilian criminal law. A Chicago-based advocacy group said the archdiocese's decision to not allow Carmel's walkathon at the seminary was "some progress." "It's hard to get too enthused about one afternoon out of 365 when the kids won't be on the same property as the predators," said David Clohessy, national director for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. Clohessy said the archdiocese should remove the accused priests from Mundelein entirely and house them in a remote treatment facility. "At bare minimum, they still need to disclose to the public the name of every predator living there and to aggressively beg victims and witnesses of these crimes to call the police," he said. Some priests accused of sexual misconduct have lived at University of St. Mary of the Lake since 2000, Mundelein police documents show.
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