MEG LAUGHLIN

 Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin said Monday that she will reveal in court why she
 believes Elian Gonzalez's maternal grandmother wanted to defect to the United
 States, that the little boy's father knew all along that his ex-wife was taking his
 son to Miami and that the father was abusive to Elian's mother.

 O'Laughlin says she got the information from sources that will come out during
 the federal court case over whether Elian stays in Miami or goes back to his
 father in Cuba.

 ``Everyone will have to wait and see,'' she said.

 She again disputed a Herald account Sunday that reported her as saying her
 information was based on a short private conversation she had at her home with
 Elian's grandmothers.

 ``I was alone with the grandmothers a short time,'' she said Monday. ``They said
 `God bless you' and a few quick things. We didn't talk.''

 O'Laughlin said she has given an affidavit about what she knows to Roger
 Bernstein, an attorney for Elian's Miami relatives.

 In an interview Monday, Bernstein would not disclose what O'Laughlin said in her
 affidavit, citing orders from a federal judge not to discuss the case. He said he
 could introduce the document in court as early as this week.

 PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS

 ``I have to uphold the confidence of my witness, as I would any client,'' said
 Bernstein. ``The conversations between Sister Jeanne and me are private.''

 O'Laughlin became involved in the Elian saga when her Miami Beach home was
 selected as a neutral site for a reunion between the grandmothers and Elian.

 After the Jan. 26 meeting, she told reporters she had changed her mind about
 where the boy should live. She said Elian should stay in Miami with his
 great-uncle and cousins, rather than being sent back to Cuba to his father, who
 has demanded his return.

 O'Laughlin said she made her decision after sensing ``the fear that seemed to be
 emanating'' from the grandmothers, and that she believed was caused by the
 Cuban government. She also said the child appeared to have bonded with her
 cousin, Marisleysis Gonzalez.

 FRIDAY INTERVIEW

 In a Friday interview with The Herald, O'Laughlin talked about the meeting she
 hosted at her home between Elian and his grandmothers. She said that after
 Elian left with his Miami relatives, she spent a few minutes alone with the
 grandmothers.

 ``We hugged. They were warm and friendly,'' she said. ``They talked to me then.
 But when the reverend from Cuba and the one from New York came in the room
 with them, they were cold and frightened with me. They were nasty.''

 O'Laughlin said in the Friday interview that the maternal grandmother, Raquel
 Rodriguez, had told her she wanted to defect.

 She also said she found out during that short conversation that Elian's father's
 family had contacted their Miami relatives 10 days before the ill-fated trip to tell
 them that Elian and his mother would be leaving Cuba for Miami. O'Laughlin said
 this led her to believe that Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, had known ahead
 of time that his son was leaving for Miami.

 When asked in an interview Friday whether she understood enough Spanish to
 understand what the grandmothers were saying, O'Laughlin replied, ``I understand
 some Spanish -- enough Spanish.''

 But Monday she said: ``I don't have an ear for Spanish. I can only get the gist of
 what's said.''

 Herald staff writer Jay Weaver contributed to this story.