A nun has been implicated by prosecutors in a troubling case of election fraud, according to local news reports.
It’s been alleged by Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters that Sister Marge Kloos of the Sisters of Charity mailed in an absentee ballot of Sister Rose Marie Hewitt who had reportedly passed away on October 4th of last year.
Deters sent a letter to the Board of Elections that said:
Re: Deceased Voter Rose Marie Hewitt.
Please be advised that sufficient information has been developed with respect to the above mentioned matter to determine that there is probable cause to believe that criminal activity has occurred.
Hewitt had reportedly lived with Sister Marge Kloos, the dean of arts at the College of Mount Saint Joseph. Prosecutor Joe Deters told WCPO that Kloos is being investigated as the person who sent in Hewitt’s ballot.
Sisters of Charity president Sister Joan Cook told reporters that they are cooperating with police.
Sister Marge Kloos has shown strong position on politics in the past. In fact in 2011, Sister Marge Kloos signed a letter reprimanding House Speaker John Boehner for siding with the “reckless” Tea Party. The letter read:
This is a stark choice between responsible leadership that serves the common good and narrow ideology that makes tax cuts for the wealthy our most sacred national priority. As Ohio Catholics, we urge you to reject the reckless path urged by many Tea Party leaders in Congress. Now is the time to seek a compromise that reflects the Catholic values of solidarity with the most vulnerable and prudential judgment.
She was also quoted in 2000 in The Cincinatti Enquirer talking about a woman being elected bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The story said:
“The possibility of electing a female bishop “gives women of other denominations, including the Catholic tradition, a great deal of confidence and hope that the various denominations are beginning to recognize the leadership skills of women,” said Sister Marge Kloos, a professor of religious and pastoral studies at the College of Mount St. Joseph.
CMR will keep you informed with updates on this story.
