A religious community in Pennsylvania has recently responded to accusations made by a conservative political figure who claimed that no one resides at their Erie monastery. The Benedictine Sisters of Erie issued a public statement this week addressing the false assertions made by Cliff Maloney, who suggested that someone affiliated with him had visited their home and found it vacant. The nuns were quick to assert that this statement is completely untrue, as their monastery is indeed occupied by its members.
In their statement, the sisters criticized Maloney for spreading misleading information, stating, “We want to call Cliff Maloney to account for his blatantly false post that accuses our sisters of fraud.” They emphasized that they live at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery and encouraged people to conduct simple online searches to verify their active involvement in various ministries within Erie.
Maloney is associated with an organization called PA Chase, which hires individuals to canvass neighborhoods with the goal of increasing Republican voter turnout and promoting mail-in ballot usage. Attempts to reach Maloney for a response were made, as well as to Citizens Alliance Pennsylvania, a conservative group based in Lemoyne that collaborates with PA Chase.
In light of the situation, the Benedictine Sisters have also sought legal advice, aiming to publicly clarify the misinformation to protect their reputation ahead of Pennsylvania’s upcoming election. They highlighted that while 53 names of nuns were circulated online, there are actually 55 members residing at the monastery, and three of the individuals listed no longer live there.
Additionally, Maloney later suggested on social media that if the nuns are indeed legitimate voters, they should exercise their voting rights. He mentioned that their legal team is currently assessing the situation. However, Sister Linda Romey, who is responsible for the sisters’ communications and development efforts, dismissed the need for any analysis, remarking, “there’s plenty of proof that we’re here.”
Sister Romey expressed that the actions taken by Maloney intruded upon their privacy, stating, “They immediately post something without a simple question being asked.” The nuns’ unexpected involvement in the political discourse even prompted a call from Al Schmidt, Pennsylvania’s secretary of state, who reached out to the monastery’s prioress to commend her for addressing the spread of election-related misinformation in this matter.