Benedictines responded to a social media post accusing the sisters of election fraud

“Today a member of PA CHASE discovered an address in Erie, PA with 53 registered voters. It turns out they are the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, and NO ONE lives there.” the post says. It includes a video listing the sisters’ names and ages, and lists the “affinities” for each, labeling them as conservative or liberal, before continuing: “Our attorneys are currently reviewing this. We will not allow Demiya to count on illegal votes.”

The 55 nuns living in the monastery disagree.

“No one came here,” Sr. Linda Romy, spokeswoman for the congregation, told Global Sisters Report. “There is not a single sister who would say that no one lives here. No guest would say that. I don’t know where that person was, but it wasn’t 6101 East Lake Road.’

Romy said the Benedictine rule required them to greet guests as if they were Christ.

“If Cliff or his agitators show up, that’s what we’ll do,” she said. “If they don’t want to pray with us, they can at least eat with us.”

In a press release dated October 23, the sisters responded.

“The Benedictine sisters do not argue with the fact that they are knocking on doors to increase the participation of citizens in the elections. We take issue with the recognition of false information as true in order to discredit different views or affiliations.” the statement says.

“We want to hold Cliff Maloney accountable for his blatantly false post accusing our sisters of fraud. We do live at St. Benedict’s Priory, and a simple Internet search will alert him to our active presence in a number of ministries in Erie,” Superioress Sr. Stephanie Schmidt said in a statement. “We also want to warn those who follow X and other social media platforms to be vigilant and seek additional information before accepting these posts as truth.”

The press release states that it is important for the sisters to protect themselves as well as protect the democratic process from misinformation.

“We want to be publicly identified as the perpetrators of this fraud so that if the results of next month’s election in Pennsylvania are contested, our integrity will not be called into question,” the document said. “We are also seeking legal assistance regarding this public defamation.”

Meanwhile, Maloney doubled down on his accusations, writing on X: “Now the chimneys come and claim that ‘nuns live there’ or ‘you idiot just googled it.’ WRONG”. His X profile reads: “I smash communicators so freedom wins.”

Apparently responding to the press release, Maloney wrote on X: “I appreciate the church’s public response that its members are legal voters. When we get the evidence, we will be satisfied.”

Romy said those making false allegations should bear the burden of proof.

“They didn’t even ask a simple question, they didn’t make a single phone call or look at our website,” she said. “They didn’t put in any effort, they just released false information right away.”

Maloney stated on X that his worker entered the convent and asked if it was a nursing home because there were so many people registered to vote. He said he was told no one lived there, but occasionally people could stay there for a night or two on their way to a mission.

Romy told Global Sisters Report that the registry is staffed by sisters from morning to night, and no one has been to the convent to ask about voter registration.

Romy said she was upset when someone posted the sisters’ names, ages and addresses on social media, which she called an invasion of privacy, not to mention their alleged political affiliation.

“It was really disgusting,” Romy said, noting that it’s unclear where the information about them being considered liberal or conservative even came from. “It’s a mystery to me.”

Romy emphasized that the community is non-partisan and does not participate in political activities or campaigns. Each sister is encouraged to vote according to her own conscience. One member, Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister, Oct. 17 had a conversation with former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, where the two spoke about common ground amid the country’s political divide, an event that drew 4,000 people to the Erie Convention Center.

While Maloney’s X posts drew thousands of comments from both sides criticizing the other, Romy said the community has received nothing but support: “Some funny, some grateful, some donations.”

She said there was no backlash on social media or harassment.

“As far as I know, there were no phone calls and the emails I got were ‘Add me to your list’ or letters of support,” Romy said. “I think it’s because the nature of the position was so ridiculous. It is absurd to say that no one lives here.”

One message of support was completely unexpected: Romy said the Pennsylvania Secretary of State’s office thanked the sisters for standing up to falsehoods because it makes their job of protecting election integrity easier.

Unfortunately, she said, some people now think that political discourse is only about who can shout the loudest.

“They think if they say it loud enough and often enough, it will magically happen,” Romy said. – We will not catch this bait.