The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is unhappy with a book by a theologian at Georgetown University, the Rev. Peter C. Phan, that praises religious pluralism and argues against the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. The American-bishops group issued a statement on Monday saying that Father Phan’s writing could “confuse or mislead the faithful,” according to the Catholic News Service. The statement followed an investigation first reported in September.

In a 2005 letter to him, the Vatican wrote that his book Being Religious Interreligiously (Orbis, 2004) “is notably confused on a number of points of Catholic doctrine and also contains serious ambiguities,” according to anonymous sources who spoke with the National Catholic Reporter.

The bishops’ statement requested “clarification” from Father Phan about the book, but did not mention any possible penalty against him. —Thomas Bartlett