The Vatican has sharply criticized a book on sexuality written by a prominent American nun, saying she has a "defective understanding" of certain core church teachings on issues like masturbation, homosexuality and marriage.
The Vatican's Congregation to the Doctrine of the Faith said Monday the book, "Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics" by Sister Margaret Farley, a member of the Sisters of Mercy religious order and emeritus professor of Christian ethics at Yale Divinity School, posed "grave harm" to the faithful.
Farley said Monday she never intended the book to reflect current official church teaching. Rather, she said, it explores sexuality via various religious traditions, theological resources and human experience.
The Farley critique comes amid the Vatican's recent crackdown on the largest umbrella group of American sisters.
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