The Catholic archdiocese of Melbourne has defended the Missionaries of Charity after a photograph emerged purporting to show two nuns from the order defacing a Sex party poster calling for the church to be taxed and marijuana to be legalised.

The party’s leader, Fiona Patten, said the pair seemed “hell-bent on tearing down the words “tax the church from a pole in Collingwood.

“Our policy to tax the church is fair and reasonable, especially where it applies to the church’s profit-making businesses, she said on Friday. “If the nuns would like to visit me and confess, that will be an end to it.

The Sex party said it had confirmed the women were nuns from the Missionaries of Charity.

An image of the women was posted on Instagram two days ago and the Sex party released it and another photograph to the media on Friday.

The Catholic archdiocese of Melbourne’s media and communications director, Shane Healy, said interfering with election posters could not be condoned.

“[But] no one should be at all surprised that sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, established by Mother Teresa of Calcutta to feed and support the poorest of the poor, would be taking offence at the policies of the Sex party, he said.

During the last New South Wales election, Sex party signs were removed from a church that was being used as a polling booth, reportedly because church workers believed they were the work of the devil.

The Missionaries of Charity have been contacted for comment.

The Guardian, June 4, 2016