World News
Women religious, neighbors protest strip club expected to open soon
Published: March 27, 2012
CHICAGO (CNS) -- A community of women religious in suburban Chicago hosted about 500 of its neighbors March 22 in a prayer vigil in hopes of stopping the planned opening of a new strip club on a street adjacent to the nuns' property. The club, to be named "Get It," would feature alcohol and partially nude dancers on a site that was formerly a factory. It was to open on or near April 1, which this year is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. The community of the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, also known as Scalabrinians, say the club will degrade the community, depress property values and create dangerous situations for children who sometimes play in the alley that runs along the property. It will also further harm the reputation of the community of just under 5,000 people, which already has at least five adult entertainment venues, according to a community group calling itself Neighbors United for a Better Stone Park. The sisters' property straddles the border of two Chicago suburbs, Melrose Park and Stone Park. The club "goes against the Christian values of the neighborhood," said Sister Noemia Silva. "Residential homes are all over the place. There will be more violence, more drunk driving, who knows, even human trafficking. We want a healthy Stone Park, without another strip club."
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