The Benedictine Sisters of Erie are fighting back after a man who encourages Republican voters used social media to accuse the nuns of fraud.
In a post on X, Cliff Maloney, the founder of The Pennsylvania Chase , said that a member of his organization knocked on a door where 53 voters are registered and “Turns out it’s the Benedictine Sisters of Erie and NO ONE lives there.”
The post is an apparent reference to the Erie Benedictines’ Mount Saint Benedict Monastery, 6101 East Lake Road, Harborcreek Township, where several dozen sisters live. The monastery also is the site of a chapel and offices.
Benedictine sisters: Initial posts ‘blatantly false’
“We want to call Cliff Maloney to account for his blatantly false post that accuses our sisters of fraud,” Sister Stephanie Schmidt, prioress, said in a news release that was also posted to the sisters’ Facebook page. “We do live at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery and a simple web search would alert him to our active presence in a number of ministries in Erie. We also want to alert those who subscribe to X and other social media platforms to be vigilant and seek additional information before accepting these posts as truth. A free republic depends on free and fair elections. It depends equally on a discerning and conscientious citizenry who do not unquestioningly accept the word of anyone who has a social media platform.”