By Kim Susan Se-jeong

The Vatican Monday criticized a book written by an American nun for being out of step with the Catholic doctrine.

The Vatican has said that Sister Margaret Farley’s book, “Just Love, a Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics,” represents a “defective understanding” of the Catholic theology. The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) said that the book, published in 2006, ignores the Catholic doctrine’s teachings on sexuality.

Farley, a professor emeritus of Christian ethics at Yale University, explained that she meant to look at sexuality through various religious traditions and the human experience rather than official Catholic teachings.

The Vatican believes that homosexuality and masturbation, which Farley wrote about in her book, go against the natural law. But Farley, who does not think the book presents a moral problem, has said, “same-sex relationships and activities can be justified according to the same sexual ethic as heterosexual relationships and activities.”

Meanwhile, the conflict between the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and the Vatican is also an ongoing issue.

The Vatican has said that the LCWR is promoting “radical feminist themes” and does not address church concerns on abortion and same-sex relationships.

In response to the reform order which followed the Vatican’s statement, the LCWR has said that the assessment was “a flawed process that lacked transparency.”

The LCWR has approximately 1,500 members, representing more than 80 percent of the 57,000 American nuns.