MEDIA COVERAGE

Follow-up News about Principal Figures in the Sister Plante Story

Suffolk Superior Court Judge John M. Xifaris

Judge Xifaris dismissed Sister Plante's lawsuit against the Diocese of Fall River "with prejudice," virtually eliminating any chance of an appeal on that case.

On August 20, 1999 the Fall River Anchor reported that Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., planned to honor Judge Xifaris at the annual "Red Mass" celebrating members of the justice system for their "dedicated service." Judge Xifaris's personal service to Bishop O'Malley, of course, included dismissing Sister Plante's lawsuit against the Fall River Diocese for wrongful termination.

Honored along with Judge Xifaris were Atty. Mary Alice McLaughlin and her husband, Atty. Dave A. McLaughlin, retired Judge Ronald D. Harper, and retired Chief Probation Officer Thomas M. McGovern. Each honoree was awarded the prestigious St. Thomas More Medal at the special Red Mass celebrated by Bishop O'Malley at 3:00pm on Sunday, September 26, 1999 at St. Mary's Cathedral. The homilist at the Mass was Jesuit Father Walter Burghardt of the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, "a well known speaker and writer on the topic of social justice." The Mass was followed by a reception and dinner at which the keynote speaker was University of Massachusetts President and former President of the Massachusetts Senate, William M. Bulger.

The Anchor noted that Judge Xifaris earned a bachelor of science degree from Babson College in 1958, and was awarded a doctorate in law by Suffolk University in 1961. His record demonstrates significant interest in social justice, as he served as a pro bono cooperating counsel for the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, as Trade Union Counsel for the Human Rights [Commission]; as counsel for the Greater New Bedford and Cape Cod Labor Council, AFL-CIO; and as pro bono counsel for the New Bedford Chapter, NAACP. Strangely, this evident concern for the working individual and underprivileged was not extended to Sister Plante's very legitimate case against her former employer.

Judge Xifaris is, however, deeply concerned for the civil rights of convicted sex offenders. On November 11, 1999, the Boston Globe reported that Judge Xifaris had handed down a ruling blocking the newest version of the state's sex offender registry law until a hearing could be held on November 18. Judge Xifaris's ruling meant that the 2,500 convicted offenders who had been sent letters ordering them to register their names, addresses and birthdates would not be arrested for non-compliance, that the remaining 16,000 people covered by the law could not be contacted, and that the state could not share any of the information it already possessed with the FBI, which maintains a national database of sex offenders.

On December 1, 1999, the Globe reported that Judge Xifaris ruled that convicted sex offenders do not have to reveal their addresses or places of employment to the state, an omission that will make them harder to locate and keep track of. In an 11-page ruling in response to a class action suit filed by the Committee on Public Counsel Services, Judge Xifaris ruled that convicted offenders have a constitutional right to keep their addresses and employers private. Under his ruling, Massachusetts will become the only state to mandate individual hearings on each offender to determine their danger before they are required to provide personal information. Other states require full registration before hearings take place.

The sex offender registry law has been justly criticized for its breadth--"sex offenders" include anyone convicted under archaic "immorality" laws as well as sexual predators, and the registry law unfairly targets gays and other non-mainstream but law-abiding individuals. Several previous versions of the Massachusetts registry law had already been struck down as unconstitutional. But Judge Xifaris's ruling also seems rather sweeping. Where was his heartfelt concern for civil rights when the Diocese forced celibate Sister Plante to undergo psychiatric tests, resign in humiliation, leave her home with no notice, and spend the rest of her life as an unemployable, unpaid volunteer?

On August 11, 2000, the New Bedford Standard Times reported that Judge Xifaris is retiring from the bench as of Wednesday, August 16 after 17 years of service. At 64, he is six years shy of the mandatory retirement age for justices. Judge Xifaris says that he intends to become a mediator, resolving civic disputes outside of the court system. Superior Court Judges Vieri Volterra and E. Susan Garsh were quoted as stating that they felt Judge Xifaris had natural gifts for mediation, bringing "differing people together" and helping them "find common ground." Judge Xifaris also says he hopes to find more time to travel with his wife, New Bedford attorney Margaret D. Xifaris.

SOURCES: "Red Mass committee to honor five members of justice system", Fall River Anchor, August 20, 1999; Ellemont, John, "Judge halts state board from listing sex offenders", The Boston Globe, November 11, 1999; Ellemont, John, "Ruling slows access to sex offender data", The Boston Globe, December 1, 1999; Brown, Curt, "Judge read to move on", New Bedford Standard Times, August 11, 2000.

The Samaritans of Fall River/New Bedford, Inc.

The Samaritans of Fall River/New Bedford have been struggling since the dismissal of Sister Plante's lawsuit against them in 1997. Citing telephone bills of over $10,000 a year, plus expenses for "legal fees and insurance" among others, the Samaritans/FRNB held a fundraising event over the weekend of June 2-4, 2000. Called a "Salute to the Samaritans", the three-day event was hosted by the Fall River Antique Market and included a wine and piano reception (donation of $10.00) and an "appraisal fair". For a fee of $5.00 for the first item and $2.00 for additional items, attendees could bring possessions to be professionally appraised for possible value as antiques. Proceeds from a weekend-long flea market would also go to benefit the Samaritans.

A June 1 article in the Fall River Herald News about the event included some rather striking statements, given the Samaritan/FRNB's history with Michael Ross, the Ross supporters and Sister Plante. Although the United Way encourages all its member agencies to conduct fundraisers, and the Samaritans/FRNB depend upon private donations to supplement their United Way support, the Samaritans/FRNB had never before held a fundraising event in their 16 years of operation. "The Samaritans keynote is basically anonymity, so we never thought it proper to draw attention to ourselves," said current Samaritans/FRNB Board of Directors President Mickie Lima. The Herald News stated, "The Samaritans believe retaining the anonymity of both its volunteers and its often distraught callers is essential to developing a bond of trust. According to Lima, the Samaritans felt that any public exposure could work to discourage distressed individuals from contacting them as it could be construed as a threat to callers' privacy...Lima added that the event will in no way affect the anonymity the Samaritans have always promised its callers."

Anyone familiar with the events described on this website must surely be picking their jaw up from the floor at this further demonstration of loopy logic by the Samaritans/FRNB. So concerned with protecting "anonymity" and "privacy" that they never held a public fundraiser before, in 1994 the Samaritans/FRNB nevertheless rejected nearly $30,000 in donations freely offered them by private persons on the grounds that the Samaritans/FRNB "didn't know who they were." And no respect for the privacy or anonymity of caller Michael Ross was displayed by the Samaritans/FRNB or their legal counsel when the names of Michael and his family were publicized, when private information or speculations about Michael's calls and his family situation were freely discussed, when private letters and signed checks from Mrs. Ross, pictures of Michael and other materials were displayed to and by the Boston Globe and WCVB-TV's "Chronicle", and when an associate of the Samaritan/FRNB's attorney claimed that Michael was calling the supposedly confidential hotlines of the Framingham Samaritans. It's a strange non-profit organization indeed that refuses to hold fundraisers out of an overweening regard for "privacy" and yet broadcasts personal information about a caller and his family all over the Commonwealth the moment they feel a little spooked. If the Samaritans/FRNB are perceiving a lack of public trust, it's not because they held an appraisal fair at the local Antiques Market.

No information has been received as to the success of the fundraiser.

SOURCE: Finlaw, James, "Samaritans schedule fund-raiser", Fall River Herald News, June 1, 2000.

Bishop Sean O'Malley, OFM, Cap.

On Monday, April 17, 2000, the Knights of Columbus of Massachusetts held its 100th annual Patriots' Day dinner in Westborough. It is at these dinners that the "Lantern Award", given to an "outstanding citizen of the country, one who exemplifies and magnifies the great virtue of patriotism" is awarded by Massachusetts members of the largest Catholic fraternal organization. The Lantern Award for the year 2000 was bestowed upon Sean O'Malley, OFM, Cap., the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts.

The Lantern Award has been given to men and women from a wide variety of backgrounds and areas of accomplishment, including former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, Henry Cabot Lodge, and former Boston Red Sox star player Carl Yastrezmski. Church leaders represent only a "liberal sprinkling" of names among those honored. It is not quite clear in what way Bishop O'Malley, who spent several years of his childhood in Ireland, has particularly demonstrated the virtue of patriotism. The dinner was attended by Cardinal Bernard Law and by Virgil Dechant, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus.

Considerable local excitement was generated in February 2000 when "unnamed church sources" leaked the information to the press that Bishop O'Malley "was on the short list" of candidates for the position of archbishop of New York. Cardinal John O'Connor of New York, who at 80 had been ill for some time, was only waiting for the Pope to name his successor before he stepped down. The Boston Globe and many local papers and television news broadcasts profiled O'Malley as the decision pended. However, Bishop O'Malley was not selected for the post, and it remains uncertain whether the leaked information really was reliable.

Bishop O'Malley has been embroiled in a number of controversies during his career as Bishop of Fall River, including his handling of cases involving alleged sexual abuse by priests and a seminarian, and the Sister Plante case. Such controversies may have affected his ability to progress in the Church hierarchy.

SOURCES: Fr. Robert O'Grady, "Fall River's Bishop O'Malley given Lantern Award", The Pilot, April 21, 2000; Paulson, Michael, "Mass. bishop seen as possible successor to O'Connor", The Boston Globe, February 29, 2000.

Former Massachusetts Congressman Peter S. Blute

Peter S. Blute is the former Masasachusetts Congressman who ignored Sister Plante's pleas for support in 1994, and whose aide, Louis Cabral, apparently intercepted private mail addressed to his employer and then accompanied the Samaritans/FRNB on their visit to Bishop O'Malley.

Former Congressman Peter Blute, who had been appointed the Director of Massport, provided local media with a juicy scandal that cost him his job in August of 1999. Excited coverage of what the Boston Herald called a "booze cruise" on August 17th quickly led to conflicting stories, accusations of plots and conspiracies, and Peter Blute's resignation. The cruise on the chartered boat Nautilus was allegedly paid for initially with Massport funds, although Blute wrote a personal check to cover the $834 fee and claimed that a local philanthropist for cancer charities, Maureen Stemberg, had arranged to pay for the cruise--a claim Stemberg's friends disputed. Along for the beer and champagne soaked ride were Alexander "Sandy" Tennant, later accused of masterminding the event, and a woman later identified as Gidget Churchill, a professional "stunt double". It was Ms. Churchill's deliberately exposing her bare breasts to cameras as the boat docked that led to much of the media attention (not to mention a front page photo in the Herald).

As the local papers filled their columns with news analyses and forecasts concerning the political careers of Blute, Tennant ("a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off") and Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci, and as Mrs. Blute firmly "stood by her man", Peter Blute could do little but attempt to land on his feet. He recovered from his enforced "resignation" far more successfully than Sister Plante did, becoming a radio talk show host on Boston's WRKO-AM station. In January 2000, Blute claimed that "operatives" for Lt. Governor Jane Swift were making threatening phone calls to him, accusing him of leaking damaging stories about her. Swift has been under media fire for most of the year 2000 over allegations of various, minor, alleged improprieties, such as tapping her staff for child care duty or once using a state helicopter to avoid heavy commuter traffic. Blute denied being the source of any of the stories. His relationship with Swift had been cool since she had worked in a Massport job in 1996 and felt that Blute did not support her in a "fraternity house atmosphere". As Lt. Governor, she urged Governor Cellucci to fire Blute following the August 1999 cruise; Blute denies that he was "fired".

SOURCES: Phillips, Frank, "Blute resigns as Massport director", The Boston Globe, August 19, 1999; Kurkjian, Stephen, "Timeworn strategies crumbled quickly", The Boston Globe, August 19, 1999; Phillips, Frank and Scott Lehigh, "Blute's blunder was to ignore the signals", The Boston Globe, August 19, 1999; Phillips, Frank and Michael Crowley, "Tennant and Blute clash over cruise", The Boston Globe, August 20, 1999; Crowley, Michael and Frank Phillips, "Woman who bared breasts is stunt double", The Boston Globe, August 20, 1999; Phillips, Frank, "Swift blamed for threatening calls", The Boston Globe, January 11, 2000.

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