A working paper created by cardinals serving on the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture has condemned elective plastic surgery, the U.K.'s Daily Mail reports.

"Plastic surgery that is not medico-therapeutic can be aggressive toward the feminine identity, showing a refusal of the body in as much as it is a refusal of the 'season' that is being lived out," the paper said, warning against "'indiscriminate and undifferentiated' objectification of women in the media and advertising."

The cardinals added in the outline for the paper, titled "Women's Cultures: Equality and Difference," that "No political or social battle has been able to do without a mechanism so profoundly rooted as that of the exploitation of the female body for commercial benefit."

The Vatican's outreach effort to women has received sharp criticism as the church seeks to retain its traditional teachings on gender but also become more inclusive, CNN said.

An Internet video promotional ad for the churchwide initiative featuring a blonde female actress — eventually taken offline — angered detractors who described the modern campaign as too sexy. The broader idea was for women around the world to send in a 60-second video of their own lives, called #lifeofwomen, that would eventually be seen at a future meeting of bishops and cardinals, the Daily Mail said of the backlash.

The paper comes as the church seeks to define the role of women and address some of their global realities. It touched on such broad topics as women in religion and the victimization of women in certain cultures. It also mentioned such issues as "selective abortion, infanticide, genital mutilation, crimes of honor, forced marriages, trafficking of women, sexual molestation, rape."

One woman cited in the paper described plastic surgery as "like a burqa made of flesh," words the council called both "harsh" and "incisive."

The church's effort to reach more women "hits a sour note," according to the Associated Press, even as it does not doubt the sincerity of the Pope in trying to broaden Catholicism's tent and appoint more women to leadership roles.

Reported the AP: "This is dangerous territory for the all-male Catholic Church hierarchy, as even Pope Francis has faced criticism for being a bit tone deaf as far as women are concerned. The pontiff, a master of communication, has sincerely praised the 'feminine genius.'

"But he has also elicited cringes, such as when he recently welcomed female members of the church's most prestigious theological commission as 'strawberries on the cake.' And when asked if a woman might someday head a Vatican office, he joked that 'pastors often wind up under the authority of their housekeeper!'"

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