Through his courage and persistence over the past thirty years, Tom Lewis-Borbely already occupies a significant place in history, and appears in major texts -- in poems and plays -- that I assign in courses on the American tradition of nonviolence.

It is a great and precious history made by men and women of similar character in the struggle for independence (when people burned stamps to protest British tax on tea and other goods); for the abolition of slavery (when people throughout New England broke the law in order to rescue children from slavery); for women rights and civil rights, when they were beaten and jailed; for worker's rights, when they sat down in factories.

These people challenged the status quo. They momentarily disrupted those involved in perpetuating violence and injustice. Thank God they did, since all of us owe persons of such moral clarity a tremendous debt.

As a father of six children and grandfather of seven grandchildren, I am personally grateful for the Plowshares effort to prevent a nuclear holocaust being prepared for us at nuclear installations around the world. And I pray that the court will acknowledge their contribution as part of a rich tradition of nonviolent direct action on behalf of justice and peace in our country.

More than that, I am grateful for Tom's many contributions to the Worcester community since he moved there. Since 1980 and with his wife and daughter, at Emma House, since 1990, he has worked hard to rebuild a poor and sometimes dangerous neighborhood, where prostitution and drugs endanger the lives of others. His corporal and spiritual works of mercy are central to community building, involving children in painting murals to brighten up the place and painting portraits of street people who frequent the Catholic Worker House that feeds and clothes them. And I would respectfully urge the court not to deprive us of Tom's unique and essential contributions to the lives of people in need in our community, as well as to his family and friends.