Fifty Catholic educators are protesting the Catholic University of America for accepting a $1 million grant from the foundation of Charles Koch, a billionaire libertarian, arguing that his ideological views counters church theology, the Washington Post reported.

Priests, social justice advocates, theologians and other academics, including several faculty members from CUA in Washington signed a letter addressed to the school's President John Garvey and Dean Andrew Abela that stated the donation from the Charles Koch Foundation sends a "confusing message" that their "anti-government, Tea Party ideology has the blessing" of a school created by U.S. bishops," the Washington Post reported.

They also oppose this donation because Koch and his brother, David, "fund organizations that advance public policies that directly contradict Catholic teaching on a range of moral issues from economic justice to environmental stewardship," the Religious News Service reported.

According to Religious News Service, this donation

In the protest letter said that while they praise CAU for opening a new business school and commend the Koch brother's for their philanthropic work, they "must not ignore the stark contrast between the Koch brothers' public policy agenda and our Church's traditional social justice teachings."

CAU officials released statement defending their acceptance of the grant on Monday.

"The letter is presumptuous on two counts. First, its authors cast themselves as arbiters of political correctness regarding Charles Koch Foundation grants," the statement said. "Second they seek to instruct The Catholic University of America's leaders about Catholic social teaching, and do so in a manner that redefines the Church's teaching to suit their own political preferences."

The university also accused the organization Faith in Public Life, who spearheaded the protest, of trying to "manufacture controversy and score political points at the expense" of their school.

Among the signers of the protest letter are Susan Ross, chairwoman of the theology department at Loyola University Chicago and William V. D'Antonio, a senior fellow of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at CAU.