Pope Benedict XVI has released an apostolic letter on charitable activities that asks bishops to improve their supervision of local charities and ensure that these groups’ work does not contradict Catholic teaching.

The Pope’s six-page letter, released Dec. 1, notes the duty of the diocesan bishops and parish priests to see that in charitable service the faithful “are not led into error or misunderstanding.”

Bishops and parish priests “are to prevent publicity being given through parish or diocesan structures to initiatives which, while presenting themselves as charitable, propose choices or methods at odds with the Church’s teaching,” he said.

Benedict XVI’s “motu proprio” letter, a document written on the Pope’s own initiative, gives new regulations on how to better organize the Church’s charitable activities.