Mundelein report details heavy security, no arrests during Catholic bishop retreat

By Rick Kambic
Pioneer Press
January 21, 2019

https://trib.in/2DpW06K

The entrance of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein was closed to the public in early January as U.S.-based bishops and cardinals had meetings on the campus. Photo by John Konstantaras

Protesters hold signs along Rt 176, across the street from St. Mary of the Lake Seminary on Jan. 5 in Mundelien. Photo by John Konstantaras

The weeklong retreat that brought hundreds of U.S.-based Roman Catholic bishops to Mundelein Seminary earlier this month was flagged by the FBI as an event worthy of resources despite a government shutdown, according to a recent report from police.

Approximately 280 cardinals and bishops, plus more than 100 assistants and two representatives from the Vatican were at the seminary between Jan. 2 and Jan. 7, Mundelein Police Chief Eric Guenther said during a Jan. 14 Village Board meeting.

A campus-wide phone outage was the only issue of note, as Guenther said no arrests were made and no threats or acts of vandalism were investigated.

“It was very well run, very smooth, the archdiocese couldn’t have been nicer or more complimentary of how we handled it,” Guenther said during his report.

The FBI issued a level five special event assessment rating for the retreat, according to Guenther.

“It is the lowest level that can be given, but (the event) rose to the point of the (federal) government saying this is a legitimized event that needs to be managed and overseen,” Guenther said.

Pope Francis called for the Mundelein retreat in October after a grand jury report in August documented bishops and other church leaders in Pennsylvania covering up the sexual abuse of children by hundreds of priests and other clergy over roughly seven decades.

Then in December, a report from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said accusations have been leveled against 690 Illinois priests, while Catholic officials have publicly identified only 185 clergy with credible allegations against them.

Although the report says that “clergy sexual abuse of minors in Illinois is significantly more extensive than the Illinois dioceses previously reported,” it does not estimate how many of the allegations, some of which are decades-old, should have been deemed credible.

Bishops who attended the retreat in Mundelein planned to focus on prayer and spiritual reflection, and they would not spend the week formulating policy, according to organizers of the retreat.

Guenther said he did research and found no other instance of a pope utilizing the Mundelein Seminary in such a high-profile way.

The federal government’s partial shutdown began Dec. 22, but Guenther said he was still granted “unique” resources.

A special van from the U.S. Postal Service was brought to Mundelein and used to scan the more than 300 packages per day that were sent to or coming from the seminary, Guenther said.

Ten bomb sniffing dogs were loaned to the Mundelein police for routine searches of the seminary and its grounds throughout the retreat and during the weeks prior, according to Guenther.

“The Illinois Department of Natural Resources was on scene daily in order to manage the outskirts and wooded areas in the 1,100 acre property,” Guenther told the Village Board.

Approximately 20 officers from Mundelein and neighboring towns were at the seminary or somewhere nearby every day except two days when more than 100 officers were utilized, according to Guenther.

“But then again, nobody saw them, nobody knew they were there, and that was kind of the whole guise behind it,” Guenther said.

Two protests were organized outside the seminary and led to no issues, according to Guenther, but there was a campus-wide phone failure on the third day of the retreat. He said a contractor that manages the seminary’s utilities was “less than attentive” during the preceding holidays.

“One call to (the U.S. Department of) Homeland Security and within 20 minutes AT&T was out fixing those lines and making sure those phones were up and running,” Guenther said.

Mundelein Cmdr. Mike Richards and Richard Chiarello, director of homeland security for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, were in charge of a regional incident management team that was assembled to protect the campus.

Guenther said Richards worked 95 hours of overtime during the retreat and preceding week, although he noted that Richards is a salaried employee.

“He deserves some consideration and some thanks for what he did,” Guenther said.