Quoted

“The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith expresses profound regret that a member of an Institute of Consecrated Life, Sr. Margaret A. Farley, RSM, affirms positions that are in direct contradiction with Catholic teaching in the field of sexual morality. The Congregation warns the faithful that her book Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics is not in conformity with the teaching of the Church. Consequently it cannot be used as a valid expression of Catholic teaching, either in counseling and formation, or in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.”

—from a June 4 notification issued by the Vatican on a 2006 book by Sr. Margaret Farley ’73PhD, a professor emerita of Christian ethics at the Yale Divinity School. The notification cited the book’s discussions of marriage and homosexuality, among other things.

“The book was not intended to be an expression of current official Catholic teaching, nor was it aimed specifically against this teaching. . . . I fear the Notification . . . misrepresents (perhaps unwittingly) the aims of my work and the nature of it as a proposal that might be in service of, not against, the church and its faithful people.”

—from Farley’s statement responding to the notification.