The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, commonly known as Opus Dei (Latin for "Work of God") or the Work, is a prelature created by the Roman Catholic Church, composed of a prelate, secular priests, and ordinary lay people, whose mission is to help spread the Catholic teaching that everyone is called to become a saint and an apostle, and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity.

Opus Dei was founded on October 2 1928 by a Roman Catholic priest, St. Josemaría Escrivá, and was established as a personal prelature by Pope John Paul II, making it a part of the Church's institutional structure.

Popes and many Catholic leaders strongly support what they see as Opus Dei's innovative teaching on the sanctifying value of work, its complete fidelity to the Catholic Church, and its work of enabling individual Catholics to own the mission of sanctifying society. In contrast, it has often been accused of secrecy, ultraconservative beliefs, a right-wing political agenda, and even cult-like methods. Recent studies have done much to counter these claims, including the work of John L. Allen, Jr. (2005) who stated that most of these views are rooted in a longstanding misinterpretation of its newness. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, a prolific sociologist of religion and conservative Catholic scholar, stated in 1994 that Opus Dei has been for many years the prime target of secularists who cannot "cannot tolerate 'the return to religion'" of the secularized society. It is also stigmatized, he said, by Catholic liberals and ex-members. Described by Allen as the most controversial force in the Catholic Church, Opus Dei is seen by many Catholics as a sign of contradiction.

Mission in the Catholic Church

Opus Dei was founded by a Roman Catholic priest, Josemaria Escrivá, on 2 October 1928 in Madrid, Spain. According to his personal account, the founding of Opus Dei had a "supernatural character." On that day he "saw Opus Dei."

In his own words, the mission of Opus Dei is:

"to help those Christians who… form part of the very texture of civil society to understand that their life… is a way of holiness and apostolate. The one and only mission of Opus Dei is the spreading of this message which comes from the Gospel. And to those who grasp this ideal of holiness, the Work offers the spiritual assistance and the doctrinal, ascetical and apostolic training which they need to put it into practice."

Its main activity is to "give a Christian formation to its members and to other people who wish to receive it." Escrivá summarized Opus Dei's role as "a great catechesis."

From its early years, Opus Dei faced criticism and opposition, but also enjoyed the strong support of Catholic officials, starting with the Bishop of Madrid, Leopoldo Eijo y Garay. Years later, Escrivá's vision of Opus Dei would be confirmed by Pope John Paul II, who stated that Escrivá had founded Opus Dei ductus divina inspiratione, led by divine inspiration, an assertion disputed by its opponents inside and outside the Catholic Church.

Message and spirituality: an overview

"The message of St Josemaría," says José Cardinal Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, "belongs to the perennial patrimony of the Church." The following are the main features of Escrivá's spiritual teachings, the core message of Opus Dei.

Holiness in ordinary life

Having become members of God's family through baptism, all Christians are called to a life of holiness consistent with their new nature as children of God. "The majority of Christians," Escrivá writes, "should sanctify themselves in the world, through ordinary work." Thus they follow Jesus who worked as a carpenter and lived as a son in a Jewish family in a small village for 30 years.

Sanctifying work

Whatever work Christians do is to be done with a spirit of excellence as an effective service for the needs of society, working out of love for God and all men and women. Their work then becomes a fitting offering to God. In his work of service, Jesus Christ "did all things well" (Mk 7:37).

Love for freedom

Christians should love personal freedom, both their own and that of all men and women. God the Son himself, on becoming man took on human freedom, and with his free choices he redeemed us through love: As man, he freely obeyed his Father's will throughout his whole life, even "unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8). By his free choices, each person directs his life towards eternal union with God or eternal separation, the two ultimate roads of life.

Prayer and mortification

Love, the essence of sanctity, is nurtured by constant child-like prayer, assisted by that include love for the Eucharist, confession, reading Sacred Scripture, and devotion to the Virgin Mary. Mortification, "prayer of the senses," is especially done through a sporting struggle to practice all the human virtues out of love. "'Great' holiness consists in carrying out the 'little duties' of each moment." These actions are co-offered in the Holy Mass, the same redeeming sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the centre and root of a Christian's life.

Charity and apostolate

Christians are to give the highest importance to the virtue of charity: understanding, compassion, courtesy, helping the needy, and fraternal correction. Love is orderly and should start with one’s duties. Charity entails apostolate, leading people to God, the source of peace and joy.

Unity of life

A Christian who seeks God not just in church, but also in the most material things has no double life, a life of faith divorced from daily work. Instead, he has a "unity of life" -- a profound union with Jesus Christ, both fully God and fully man, one person in whom divine power is fused with ordinary human activity. Thus, a Christian's work becomes God's work, opus Dei. Despite all his defects, which with God's help he humbly strives to uproot, he becomes more and more alter Christus, ipse Christus, another Christ, Christ himself.

According to Escrivá, the foundation of the Christian life is a personal awareness of one's "divine filiation." Divine filiation is the Christian's fundamental state as a daughter or son of God in Christ, the deep awareness of which brings about immense happiness: "Joy comes from knowing we are children of God." Opus Dei, Escrivá says, is "a smiling asceticism." (See )

In Opus Dei in the United States, Associate Editor of America Magazine, Jesuit Fr. James Martin (1995), belittles the maxims found in Escrivá's . He says these range "from traditional Christian pieties..to sayings that could easily have come out of Poor Richard’s Almanack." On the other hand, Sebastiano Cardinal Baggio states that Escrivá is a "turning point in the history of Catholic Spirituality." Some scholars say he "is like a figure from the deepest spiritual sources," possessing "the temper of a Father of the Church."

Institutional structure

Catholic personal prelature

John Paul II established Opus Dei as a personal prelature of the Catholic Church on 28 November 1982. This legal framework, the Pope said, is "perfectly suited" to Opus Dei's "true nature and theological characteristics": a unified, secular, international body of priests and lay people, both men and women, sharing the same vocation with no distinctions, under the governance of one head. Being a part of the Church's hierarchical structure, like a diocese, indicates that Opus Dei is an integral part of the Church itself, and not a mere product of voluntary association.

Critics, like Kenneth Woodward of Newsweek, say Opus Dei through its juridical status has become independent from Catholic Church authority, a "church within the Church." On the other hand, Catholic officials, who conducted a 20-year study in consultation with many bishops before making this decision, state that a personal prelature is an ordinary ecclesiastical structure of the same category as dioceses and military ordinariates, and like them is under the governance of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops. These structures take care of lay people with their own secular clergy and prelate. In contrast to dioceses, which have a territorial jurisdiction, personal prelatures --like military ordinariates-- take charge of persons as regards some particular objectives regardless of where they happen to live. As regards "what the law lays down for all the ordinary faithful," the lay members of Opus Dei, being no different from other Catholics, "continue to be .. under the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop," in the words of Ut Sit.

Vocation and membership

In "Vocation to Opus Dei as Vocation in the Church," F. Ocariz (Opus Dei in the Church 1994) says that within the common vocation of all Christians to become holy, the faithful of Opus Dei have a specific vocation of spreading the knowledge of the universal call to holiness in the process of sanctifying their daily work. Through their vocation, the faithful of Opus Dei are equally members of a single portion of the Catholic Church, the "People of God." Opus Dei members, Ocariz says, have "one vocation," because they are called to have the same apostolic aim, practice the same spirit and ascetical means, and receive the same training. Due to this "oneness of vocation," Ocariz says Opus Dei has the atmosphere of a Christian family, where the faithful call the prelate "the Father."

Because the vocation is the same for all the faithful, there are no degrees of membership. There are, however, different ways of living that same Christian vocation, according to the different circumstances of each one: married, single, healthy or sick, etc. Unlike religious or consecrated persons, the members of Opus Dei are incorporated into the prelature by means of private contracts and not vows. To be incorporated into the Opus Dei prelature, one must freely ask to do so, convinced that one has received a vocation.

The majority of the faithful of Opus Dei are supernumeraries, who currently account for about 70% of the total. Generally they are married men or women, for whom the sanctification of their family duties is their "most important business" and their "path to holiness," in the words of Escrivá. Supernumeraries are not as available as the other faithful in the prelature for administrative tasks, but lend assistance as their circumstances permit. According to Vittorio Messori, in Opus Dei, "supernumeraries represent the 'normal,' the most frequent vocation in statistical terms, and in them is seen most clearly the purpose of Opus Dei--to Christianize the world from the inside through people of the world who are not worldly."

The rest of the faithful of the prelature are men and women who commit themselves to celibacy for apostolic reasons. Numeraries, who comprise less than 20% of the faithful, are usually able to live in centers of Opus Dei. Their circumstances allow them to be more available to attend to the apostolic undertakings and the formation of the other faithful in the prelature. Like all the rest, they carry out their professional work in the middle of the world. For a few of them, this could involve directing the apostolic activities of the prelature for a span of time. Numerary assistants are women of Opus Dei who have the same availability as the numeraries. Their principal task is to look after the domestic needs of the centres of Opus Dei, which for them constitutes their ordinary professional activity. Escrivá liked to call the work of the numerary assistants "the apostolate of apostolates," since it provided the foundation for all of the prelature's apostolic efforts. Associates live with their families or wherever is convenient for professional and personal reasons. It is generally from the numeraries and associates that the prelate calls men to the priesthood. The Priestly Society of the Holy Cross is an association of clergy intrinsically united to Opus Dei that fosters personal sanctification, brotherhood among priests and unity with their own bishop.

Instruction and training

A Christian becomes a

He says that the "paramount means of formation" is personal coaching through spiritual direction, a practice which has its roots in the early Church. According to Cornelio Fabro, eminent Italian philosopher, Opus Dei's training fosters the human virtues, habits which are developed through the repetition of free decisions in one's activities and professional work. These habits of human excellence, including love for the truth, self-discipline and generosity, are the "foundation" of the supernatural virtues of faith and love for God. Since Escrivá always stressed the importance of "the free and responsible personal action of each member," Fabro calls him an important figure "for the Church of the future," for he "restored the true concept of Christian freedom..After centuries of Christian spiritualities based on the priority of obedience, he taught that obedience was the consequence and fruit of freedom."

The formation Opus Dei provides is available to its cooperators and anyone wishing to receive it. Cooperators of Opus Dei are non-members who collaborate with the faithful of Opus Dei by praying, giving alms or providing assistance to the prelature.

Analysis of the message and actual practice

Faith, novelty, and controversies

John Paul II said Opus Dei "anticipated the theology of the lay state, which is a characteristic mark of the Church of the Council and after the Council." He described its aim as "a great ideal" and its message as both timely and timeless. The Catholic Church's Second Vatican Council states:

"All the faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord, each in his own way, to that perfect holiness whereby the Father Himself is perfect (Mt 5:48)." "It belongs to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in the affairs of the world and directing them according to God's will."

The biblical concept that everyone is called to sanctity was already enunciated by Augustine of Hippo, Francis of Sales, and Alphonsus Liguori, but their emphasis was on prayer and liturgical devotions, basically monastic spirituality applied to the laity. Escrivá was more radical, says Cardinal Luciani (1977), who later became John Paul I. He taught that work itself is the precise place and means for holiness, providing a "genuine lay spirituality" for attaining sanctity. The "absolute novelty" of Opus Dei, says Franz Cardinal König (1975), the perceived leader of the "progressivists" in Vatican II, lies in teaching that the two separated worlds of religious life and professional life "should in fact walk together." Aside from this, says José Cardinal Saraiva Martins (2002), the "great originality" of Opus Dei's message is also based on teaching that all of creation has been sanctified by the God-man: movies, computers, family outings, sports can and should be "means of sanctification." In this Christian materialism, as Escrivá calls it, Christians leading an integral life of prayer and mortification are called to "passionately love the world" and to "free creation from disorder." For other testimonies, please see Opus Dei and Catholic Church Leaders.

In the work of spreading a message that to many seems new, Opus Dei faced challenges, misunderstandings and controversies, leading some Catholic leaders like John Cardinal Heenan to see Opus Dei as a sign of contradiction, a "sign that is spoken against" (Lk 2:34). This term, John Paul II suggests, is "a distinctive definition of Christ and of his Church."

In the 1940s, some Jesuits led by Fr. Angel Carrillo de Albornoz, who later left the Society of Jesus, denounced Opus Dei's teachings as "a new heresy." It is not orthodox, they said, to teach that the laity can be holy without public vows and distinctive clothing. Also, these critics were concerned that Opus Dei would take away vocations from the religious orders.

Based on reports from Spain, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Wlodimir Ledochowski (1866–1942), told the Vatican he considered Opus Dei "very dangerous for the Church in Spain." He described it as having a "secretive character" and saw "signs in it of a covert inclination to dominate the world with a form of Christian Masonry." This first attack against Opus Dei from within well-regarded ecclesiastical circles ("the opposition by good people," Escrivá called it) is considered the root of present-day accusations coming from the most varied quarters that Opus Dei is a dangerous, secret society in pursuit of power. This is the conclusion of a number of writers, including John L. Allen, Jr., an American journalist known for his objectivity, in his work .

Opus Dei critics point out though that Opus Dei has an ultraconservative and reactionary vision of the Roman Catholic faith. They see Opus Dei as "the shock troops" of John Paul II's "restorationist papacy," and now of Benedict XVI.

Messori and Allen say in contrast that the Opus Dei prelature does not have any doctrine other than what the Catholic Church teaches. Catholic thinkers such as George Weigel say the use of conservative, a political category, on religious, moral, or intellectual matters is "implausible and distorting." These should be categorised as either faithful or heretical, good or evil, true or false. The "handing on" (traditio) of "living faith," he says, has the "capacity to inspire innovative thinking." Escrivá says that Opus Dei is "as old as the gospel and as the gospel new."

Call and demands: theological basis

In his opening message for the theological symposium Holiness and the World, former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger stressed that the teachings of the founder of Opus Dei on sanctity are "Christ-centred."

The message Opus Dei is called to proclaim, that all Christians can and should become a saint, is grounded in the following premises: Christians believe that (1) they are "poor creatures" made of nothing "whose pride leads (them) to rise up against God;" (2) Christ is the living God, who "has created us and maintains us in existence," and is the "only one who can satisfy the longings of the human heart;" (3) Christ is a Savior who is "madly in love" with us and who is the one most interested in that we live in communion with him in infinite bliss: "He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, to be saints and blameless in his sight" (Eph 1:4);(4) "This Christ who is alive is also a Christ who is near," says Ratzinger of Escrivá's thought, "a Christ in whom the power and majesty of God make themselves present through ordinary, simple, human things." Waiting as a in the and really present in the Eucharistic bread, Christ makes himself "totally available" to nourish the Christian so as to become "one single thing with him." With the gift of this "divinization" in grace, "a new principle of energy," and with the support of "Christ's family," the Church, and a good spiritual director, the difficult ideal of becoming a saint, another Christ, is "also easy. It is within our reach," Escrivá states.

Becoming a saint is shunned, according to Ratzinger (2002), when there is a "mistaken concept of holiness..as something reserved for some 'greats'..who are completely different from us ordinary sinners. But this is a wrong perception which has been corrected precisely by Josemaría Escrivá." A saint has heroic virtue "because he has been transparent and available for the work of God. In other words, a saint is nothing other than to speak with God as a friend speaks with a friend..the Only One who can really make the world both good and happy."

God's "frenzy of love" is "repaid with love," preached Escrivá. With Christ's Holy Spirit (Infinite Love) residing in a Christian who is willing to correspond, the human spirit which was created to love, says Escrivá, is led along an "inclined plane," which starts with the fervent repetition of short prayers and then "gives way to intimacy with God, looking at God without needing rest or feeling tired." Thus, one of his favourite teachings is the biblical injunction that all should love God with their whole heart, soul, might, and mind, a love which does not keep anything back, a kind of love which parents are supposed to transmit all day long to their children (Deut 6:4-9: Shema Yisrael), and which Christ said is the "greatest commandment" (Mt 22:37-40). Escrivá also points to Jesus' "new commandment" to love one another "as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34), "greater love" than which "no man has" for he "lays down his life for his friends" (Jn 15:13). According to the Catechism, this "effective self-offering" is "the model of holiness" (no. 459). For Escrivá this is "the level of what can be demanded" of all Christians.

Affirming that the "Church's first purpose is to be the sacrament of the inner union of men with God" (CCC 775), John Paul II, in the Apostolic Letter At the Beginning of the New Millennium, placed sanctity, "this high standard of ordinary Christian living," as the single most important priority of all pastoral activities in the universal Church "for all times." And for this, Catholics are to live a "life distinguished above all in the art of prayer" and should proclaim God's word "without ever hiding the most radical demands of the Gospel message." And Benedict XVI adds, "it is not a burden to be carried by a great love and a revelation, but it is like having wings." "Having wings" is a traditional metaphor that Escrivá also used. (e.g. and )

Spiritual practice

After one year of research among members of Opus Dei, Allen said that what impressed him most was the "quality of the people." For the most part, he says, despite the challenges and errors their practice of Opus Dei's spirituality could lead to, he found them to be really striving to practice what they preached. The barbers and bus drivers he met are very hardworking and competent, their life of prayer and evangelization "seamlessly" combining with their work.

As for the founder, John Paul II declared: "Faithful to the charism he had received, he gave an example of heroism in the most ordinary situations." Stating that Escrivá is "counted among the great witnesses of Christianity," John Paul II canonized him on 6 October 2002, and called him "the saint of ordinary life." In his Decree of Canonization, the Pope referred to short prayers in which "one can trace the entire life story" of the new saint: Lord, that I might see! Lady, that it might be! All with Peter to Jesus through Mary. We want Christ to reign! All the glory to God! One-third of the world's bishops sent letters petitioning for the canonization of Escrivá. This number, and the number of people who attended the ceremony, was unprecedented.

However, Escrivá's canonization sparked controversy. Critics such as Kenneth Woodward said he was undeserving and that the process of canonization was lightning fast and was marred by irregularities. On the other hand, Fr. Rafael Perez, an Augustinian priest and an expert on canonizations, states it was the promoters' efficiency, the reforms in the canonization process, and the importance of Escrivá's figure in the Church that enabled the process to move quickly, although in terms of the number of sessions it was the longest to date. Philip Zaleski said the opposition to saints such as Josemaría Escrivá may even undercut efforts to enhance the role of the laity in the life of the Church. Please also see Josemaría Escrivá.

There are other members of Opus Dei whose process of beatification has been opened: Ernesto Cofiño, a father of five children and a pioneer in pediatric research in Guatemala; Montse Grases, a teenage Catalan student who died of cancer, offering up her life cheerfully; Toni Zweifel, a Swiss engineer, and Bishop Alvaro del Portillo, Escrivá's successor as head of Opus Dei.

Together with these positive developments, says Allen, there is also a good number of former members who are highly critical of the organization and have set up websites such as the (ODAN)and to inform people about the true practices of Opus Dei. Some even report that Opus Dei attempted to suppress information through legal pressure or slandering. Allen says on the other hand that their views are countered by many other ex-members, the present members, and the estimated 900,000 people who attend activities of Opus Dei. Allen says that "at the level of overall impression, how one interprets the facts about Opus Dei seems to depend upon one's basic approach to spirituality, family life, and the implications of a religious vocation." Some of the most prominent sociologists like Reader Emeritus of Sociology of the University of Oxford, Bryan R. Wilson, put in doubt the testimonies of a type of critical former members. Wilson goes so far as to say, for example, that some of these adult members who are "prone to bias" sometimes "learn to rehearse an atrocity story" so as "to regain their self-esteem."

Ex-members also report of aggressive recruitment whereby members initially hide their links to Opus Dei, persuade recruits not to tell their families, and

Opus Dei is also accused of high control of members through tight schedules and internal confesors. Allen states: "The vast majority of members I met seemed healthy, well-adjusted, intelligent, running their own lives, and posing no threat to themselves or to others. I never had the impression that anyone was being subjected to this regime by coercion or 'mind control.' For the most part, members seem to experience this structure as liberating rather than confining, helping them become the kind of person they wish to be." He also reported on Opus Dei's policy of "delicate respect" for each person's freedom that Escrivá practised and preached. As regards corporal mortification, John Allen reports that this is a marginal practice within Opus Dei and is done with due prudence. Its practice in the Catholic Church, he says, is more widespread than many observers imagine. Practiced in the Old Testament, it has been used by Christians as a way of following Christ, who fasted for 40 days, freely allowed himself to be tortured and crucified, and asked anyone who wanted to be his disciple to "renounce himself, take up his cross daily and follow me." John Paul II states in his  : "Suffering, more than anything else, makes present in the history of humanity the powers of the Redemption." Please also see Mortification of the flesh.

Opus Dei in society

For a more detailed discussion, please see Opus Dei in society

Mission, strategy, and characteristics

Popes and many Catholic leaders see Opus Dei as carrying out a divine endeavor in society, mobilizing Christians to "put Christ at the summit of all human activities" by sanctifying their work. In Opus Dei: Leadership and Vision in Today’s Catholic Church, Messori says that Opus Dei aims to improve humanity --through its members' apostolate of friendship--by "improving human beings—one by one, and profoundly." The main strategy, according to Escrivá's teaching, is that each Christian must strive to become a "canonizeable saint," another Christ redeeming all men and women, and thus also a responsible citizen who works for the common good. Because if Christians are not well-ordered from within, he clarifies, if they do not put God first through a life of contemplation, they will be merely spreading their disorder to other people. "These world crises," he says, "are crises of saints."

Escrivá says that "the easiest way to understand Opus Dei is to consider the life of the early Christians. They lived their Christian vocation seriously, seeking earnestly the holiness to which they had been called by their Baptism. Externally they did nothing to distinguish themselves from their fellow citizens." (Italics added)

From its critics' point of view, however, Opus Dei is a secretive, right-wing group interested in spreading a conservative ideology. In his 1995 article, Fr. James Martin, a Jesuit writer, claims that Opus Dei is secretive in its operations and has undue influence in the Vatican. The BBC also has an article referring to the

With the abundance of information Opus Dei provides, Allen says it cannot be called secretive. This allegation, he says, is a misunderstanding of Opus Dei's "avoidance of self-aggrandizement," its respect for the right to privacy and intimacy of its members, and its novel secular nature: members do not set up official Catholic institutions but rather act in their own name as private citizens. Allen claims that the "myth" of secrecy and power-seeking is very out-dated, having been started by certain Jesuits in the 1940s who failed to grasp Opus Dei's newness.

Profile of members and their activities

The Vatican Yearbook of 2004 states that Opus Dei has around 85,000 members, about 1,900 of whom are priests. Members are distributed as follows: Africa 1600; Asia and the Pacific 4700; North and South America 29,000; Europe 48,700. The central headquarters of Opus Dei is on Viale Bruno Buozzi 75, Rome.

Meanwhile, critics accuse Opus Dei of elitism. Opus Dei is mainly interested in the rich, they say, and has amassed both power and wealth. On the other hand, Allen says that while the main apostolate and social work of the members takes place through their daily relationships, they also cooperate with other people in setting up many social initiatives. According to his 2005 study, there are at least 608 such projects in different countries guided by Opus Dei laity and priests: 41% of these are primary and secondary schools, 26% vocational-technical or agricultural training schools, 27% university residences, and the remaining 6% are 17 universities, 12 business schools and 8 hospitals.

He also says that the worldwide revenue of Opus Dei is only that of a mid-sized American diocese. He says Opus Dei has only 39 bishops out of the 4,564 in the world. And there are only 20 members working in the Vatican, out of 3920 people in total who work there. John Cardinal O'Connor said: "I believe it critical to dispel the notion which borders on calumny that Opus Dei is concerned only about the wealthy and the well educated." "The extension, number and quality of the members of Opus Dei may have led some people to imagine that a quest for power or some iron discipline binds the member together," said Cardinal Luciani (John Paul I). "Actually the opposite is the case: all there is is the desire for holiness and encouragement for others to become holy, but cheerfully, with a spirit of service and a great sense of freedom.”

Opus Dei and women

On 14 February 1930, Escrivá became convinced, against his written resolution, that "God wanted women in Opus Dei." Within the one prelature, women in Opus Dei carry out their activities separate from the men. They are united in the Prelate and in practising the spirit of Opus Dei.

On the other hand, the founding director of the Institute for Women's Studies, Prof. Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Ph. D of Harvard University, says: "Opus Dei has an enviable record of educating the poor and supporting women, whether single or married, in any occupation they choose." Allen says that half of the leadership positions in the organization are held by women and they supervise the work of men. He also says that there are many women members who, by sanctifying their work, have proved themselves to be respected professionals in their own field: business, fashion, learning, journalism, etc. He also refers to Marta Brancatisano, a supernumerary, who wrote Approach to an Anthropology of Difference in 2004. She states that women should not enter the workforce as "one more" but as a "different one," given that "the only ontological difference among human beings is determined by the sexes," and that care for the family and the home are "eminently feminine."

Opus Dei and politics

John Allen observed that while Opus Dei members adhere to Catholic teachings, they have different and even contrary approaches on economic, philosophical and political questions. He says: "There's a cardinal principle behind Opus Dei that it can never take political positions corporately. It would compromise the notion of secularity—that political thinking is something for lay people to do, not for a church organization to do. Therefore, on questions that don't deal with faith and morals, there's great pluralism..Still there is a sociological reality that the kind of people attracted to Opus Dei tend to be conservative, theologically and politically."

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 2003 says that Opus Dei in Spain "gained national importance after the civil war, when it received support from the government of Francisco Franco. In the 1950s and 60s it replaced the Falange as the most important conservative political and religious force in Spain."

Messori, who investigated the claim that Opus Dei is a kind of political party in Spain, says this is a longstanding "black legend" spread by the Falange and some clerical sectors. He and Allen state that of the 116 ministers of Franco, only 8 were members. According to English historian Paul Preston, these belong to different political persuasions and Franco appointed them for their technical competence and not for their membership in Opus Dei. Another historian, Brian Crozier, states that Opus Dei "is not, as its enemies either think or want others to think, a political party; nor is it a political pressure group..Opus Dei was not a group to be conciliated by being given a share in power, as the Monarchists were, or the Falange, or the Army." German historian Peter Berglar, an Opus Dei member, says that it is a "gross slander" to connect Opus Dei with Franco's regime, since the latter prosecuted some prominent members of Opus Dei, including Rafael Calvo Serer and Antonio Fontan who fought for press freedom and democracy, and later became the first Senate President of Spain's democracy.

Response of society

For a more detailed discussion, please see Opposition to Opus Dei

The response of society to Opus Dei has been mixed. Many Church and civil leaders have praised its work. Lech Walesa of Poland, Corazon Aquino of the Philippines, Thomas Murphy of General Motors, Sir John Biggs-Davison of the United Kingdom, Raymond Barre of France are some of the world leaders who see the positive influence of Opus Dei in society. "Opus Dei," said Charles Malik, former President of the United Nations and an Eastern Orthodox Christian, "wants to reveal to the whole of humanity the nature of sanctity: this is precisely the spirituality which our times need.” Allen, who has travelled around the world, said that “Escrivá is reviled by some and venerated by millions.” Julian Cardinal Herranz, a member of Opus Dei in the Roman Curia, says that "Opus Dei has become a victim of Christianophobia." Nevertheless, he went on to say, "more people today love Opus Dei than don't."

For its part, ODAN says that wherever Opus Dei is, there is controversy. Opus Dei received world-wide attention with Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. After calling Opus Dei a "Catholic sect" on the novel's "fact page," Brown spins a story in which the fanatical devotion of one its members and the self-interest of its head were used by a mysterious villain for sinister motives. Brown says that his portrayal of Opus Dei is based on interviews with members and ex-members, and books about Opus Dei. Examples of such writings are: (1) Opus Dei: An Investigation into the Secret Society Struggling for Power Within the Roman Catholic Church, by former Jesuit Michael Walsh, who adduces a number of conspiracy theories, (2) People of God by Penny Lernoux; and (3) by sociologist A. Moncada, an ex-numerary. There are other such writings found on the webpage of . Opus Dei is also listed on several sites of cult research organizations and cult observer groups.

These texts have been analyzed and studied by sociologists of religion and Catholic authors. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, a prolific sociologist whose works appear in 12 scientific journals, said in 1994 that secularists, liberal Catholics and anti-Catholics use the term "cult" in order to attach a social stigma against Opus Dei which has been their "prime target for years." Secularist groups fight Opus Dei, he says, because "they cannot tolerate 'the return to religion'" of the secularized society. Forming a strange relationship of believers and non-believers, he states in , liberal Catholics, ex-members, and parents of people involved with Opus Dei have joined forces with these groups for they are "eager to find powerful and wealthy allies of similar ideologies in their polemics against Opus Dei and other Catholic entities who wish to remain faithful to the Magisterium." Since secularists deny truth exists, even in religious matters, he says, mainline scientists reject as “unscholarly” the reports of anti-cult activists, including their method of labelling organisations . Anti-catholicism, which Protestant scholar Philip Jenkins calls the "last acceptable prejudice" in the West, is another factor in this fight.

While apologizing for mistakes committed in their work of apostolate, supporters say it is not right to call a Catholic prelature a cult. The slogan “sects within the Church” is self-contradictory, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn tells Catholics in "From a theological and ecclesiastical point of view, a group is considered a sect when it is not recognized by the relevant Church authority." Introvigne also states: As a prelature, Opus Dei is "at the very heart of the socio-administrative organisation of the Catholic Church." To label a prelature a "sect" either comes from (1) the use of "quantitative criteria" which does not examine beliefs but behavior and practices, or (2) a political desire of using a stigma against an enemy. However, he says, if one uses quantitative elements or if one stigmatizes groups one does not like, one can find "sects" everywhere, including the Catholic Church in its totality. Several Catholic religious orders, Amway, Multi-level marketing, and Charismatics are also in the list of the cult observer groups.

While Opus Dei spokesperson, Marc Carrogio, has issued a towards the people behind The Da Vinci Code, some Christian scholars state that "the misrepresentation of Christian beliefs in The Da Vinci Code is so aggressive and continual that we can only conclude that it is a result of willful ignorance or purposeful malice." (, Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel 2003)

Revolutionary or conservative?

Escrivá said that Opus Dei's influence in society is not socio-economic but ethical: rich and poor work together to build a society that is more human, just, and progressive.

In a report of Catholics for Free Choice, however, Opus Dei is categorised together with Neocatechumenal Way, Focolare, Legion of Christ, , Charismatic Renewal, and Communion and Liberation, as Catholic groups having neoconservative, extremely traditionalist and pre-enlightenment messages for society. Critics generally point out that the Catholic Church, to which Opus Dei and these groups are very much attached to, has a negative influence on civilization and society.

In contrast, Benedict XVI praises the work of these lay organizations and commented on the profile of Opus Dei as "this surprising link between absolute fidelity to the great tradition of the Church and to her faith, with a disarming simplicity and unconditional openness to all the challenges of this world, in the academic world, in the world of work, in the world of economics, etc." There are also modern historians, many of whom are non-Catholics, who are revising the common perceptions of the Catholic Church. They say the Catholic faith supports reason and progress, a faith that has been putting the "at the center of the development of the values, ideas, science, laws, and institutions which constitute what we call Western civilization," in the words of Paul Legutko of Stanford University in his review of Thomas Woods' book .

The debate about Opus Dei and its role in society continues. The two diametrically opposed positions are reflected in how one interprets point 353 of Escrivá's The Way :

Nonsectarianism. Neutrality. Those old myths that always try to seem new. Have you ever bothered to think how absurd it is to leave one's Catholicism aside on entering a university, or a professional association, or a scholarly meeting, or Congress, as if you were checking your hat at the door?

Critics say this type of counsel makes it impossible for Opus Dei members to be free in political matters, since it creates an ideology of "National Catholicism" or "." Opus Dei members are placed squarely on the political right, becoming a conservative influence in world affairs and promoting the Vatican's traditionalist policies.

Supporters, on the other hand, say that true Christians are committed to objective truth and act with full freedom and personal responsibility. They say that the Catholic Church per se is beyond the power struggle among conservatives, liberals and progressives: It is engaged in a fundamental struggle for the peace and happiness of each soul: the battle between the powers of evil and the God-man Jesus Christ who, in the words of Opus Dei's founder, "never loses battles."

According to Escrivá, "face-to-face with God, there is no room for anonymity: either one decides to be his friend or his foe." He also says in a key teaching: "Many great things depend — don't forget it — on whether you and I live our lives as God wants." His supporters say that if Christians throughout the world are completely faithful to the , then "the greatest revolution of all time would take place," according to what they see as the prophetic vision of Opus Dei's founder. .

Whether one takes the stand that Opus Dei is God's revolutionary Work or a conservative political force, or some other position, these varying views about Opus Dei continue to be debated.

History of Opus Dei: A timeline

• 1928: October 2. Founding of Opus Dei
• 1930: February 14. Founding of the Women's branch of Opus Dei
• 1939: The Way, Escrivá's spiritual considerations, is first published
• 1941: Opus Dei is granted first diocesan approval by the Bishop of Madrid
• 1943: February 14. Founding of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross
• 1946: Escrivá moves to Rome to establish the headquarters of Opus Dei
• 1950: June 16. Opus Dei is given final and complete approval by Pius XII
• 1962: Start of the Second Vatican Council, which proclaims the universal call to holiness
• 1975: June 26. Death of the founder. Alvaro del Portillo, his closest associate, is elected as his successor
• 1982: November 28. Establishment of Opus Dei as a personal prelature. John Paul II appoints del Portillo as prelate
• 1992: May 17. Beatification of the founder
• 2002: October 6. Canonization of the founder. John Paul II calls Escrivá the "saint of ordinary life"

For a longer timeline, please see Opus Dei: A Historical Timeline

Footnotes

•   Fabro, Cornelio, Temple de un Padre de la Iglesia, Rialp 2002; the other quote is from an unnamed peritus or official Vatican theological expert who analyzed Escrivá's work in connection with the process of his beatification (Documentation Service 5, 3, March 1992). For a fuller discussion, please see Teachings of Opus Dei.
•  These secular structures are very different from religious orders, which are under the Congregation for the Religious, and which take charge of nuns, monks, friars, religious priests, and lay orders that follow religious practices.
•   Some critics claim that Opus Dei is controversial due to its intrinsic paradoxes. Prof. Joan Estruch, the Research Director of the Department of Sociology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, says in Saints and Schemers: Opus Dei and its Paradoxes that Opus Dei is the work of a man whose aims evolved over time. At one point, he simply sought to modernise Spain. Thus, Opus Dei became both conservative in doctrine and modern in its work ethic. On the other hand, Jesuit scholar, Fr. James V. Schall, Professor of Political Science at Georgetown University, says that Estruch's work is subjective, arbitrary and unscientific. Schall gives as an example Estruch's claim that priests enter the seminary only to improve their lot.
•   Woods refers to both non-Catholic and Catholic historians of science: , Alistair Cameron Crombie, , , and , Stanley Jaki; economists: Joseph Schumpeter and Raymund de Roover; art historian: Kenneth Clark, ; historian of hospitals: . Wood's book supports Christopher Dawson's thesis about religion "as the dynamic element in history and as a real world-transforming power." See also Rodney Stark's , Random House 2005.
•   See Canals, Salvatore, , Scepter 1998; May, William, in Holiness and the World, Scepter 1993.
•   Also CCC 546: Jesus "asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything (Mt 13:44-45)"
•   Also "Parent's Guide to Opus Dei" by J. Garvey, a parent of two numeraries. Garvey compares Opus Dei practices to the practices of sects outlined in the ; by ex-numerary Maria Angustias Moreno, and Beyond the Threshold written by ex-numerary Maria Carmen del Tapia and
•   Wilson, Bryan, , Freedom Publishing. See also Controversy over the validity of the testimonies of critical members of religious organizations.
•   Introvigne, Massimo, in François Champion - Martin Cohen (eds.), Sectes et démocratie, 1999, pp. 277-289. Introvigne recently joined the faculty of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, a corporate undertaking of Opus Dei.
•   Allen says Opus Dei's assets in the United States are estimated to be at $344 million, compared with an annual revenue for the Catholic Church in the US of $102 billion. By comparison, General Motors has assets of $455 billion. As to real estate, Opus Dei has not much need for it, Messori states, since "the great majority of Opus Dei members continue to live their everyday lives in their own homes." For more information on the financial matters of Opus Dei, please see .
•   For more information regarding corporate works of Opus Dei and apostolic initiatives of members of Opus Dei all over the world, please see .
•   Preston, Paul, Franco. A Biography, London: HarperCollins, 1993, p. 669.
•   Crozier, Brian, Franco, A Biographical History, Little, Brown and Company 1967.
•  Fr. V. Felzmann, a former member, goes so far as to claim that Escrivá had a certain admiration for Hitler. Dozens of witnesses, though, including non-members, contradict Felzmann. They say Escrivá boldly condemned Hitler's pagan, racist totalitarianism. For a fuller discussion, please see Opus Dei and politics.

References and external links

Official Catholic Church documents

• Pope John Paul II. (28 November 1982).
• Pope John Paul II. 7 October 2002.
• Pope John Paul II. -- summarizes Escriva's mission, work, message, and the main features of his teachings
• Cardinal Sebastiano Baggio. (23 August 1982).

Official Opus Dei references

• Escrivá, Josemaria. , Scepter Publishers -- the founder's teachings and explanations about Opus Dei; the most basic reference
• Müller, Beat. -- a basic text given to journalists
• Shaw, Russel (1994). --- from the Office of Communications, Prelature of Opus Dei in the US

Writings of members and non-members

• -- collection of contributions to a theological symposium; contributors include Ratzinger, del Portillo, Cottier, dalla Torre, Ocariz, Illanes, Aranda, Burggraf and an address by John Paul II ISBN 1890177040
• Rodríguez, Pedro; Alves de Sousa, Pío Gonçalo; Zumaquero, José Manuel. (1985) Mons. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y el Opus Dei: en el 50 aniversario de su fundación. Pamplona. -- collection of different articles

Writings of members

• Berglar, Peter (1994). . Scepter. -- in-depth historical study; available on-line
• -- in-depth juridical study
• -- a basic text; a French scholar's synthesis
• -- in-depth ecclesiological study
• Pakaluk, Michael (June 1978). . The Family. -- a typical day in the life of a member of Opus Dei

Writings of non-members

• Allen, John, Jr. (2005). , Doubleday Religion. ISBN 0385514492 -- book written after 300 hours of interviews by a journalist of National Catholic Reporter, a left leaning newspaper
• Allen, John, Jr. (2005). , , , - 4 on-line excerpts from John Allen's Opus Dei
• Allen, John, Jr. (24 March 2005). . An Interview with John Allen, by Edward Pentin. Newsweek. -- a short summary of his book
• Allen, John, Jr. (January 2006). . An Interview with John Allen, by John Romanowsky. Godspy.
• Brancoli, Rodolfo (June-July 2002). . Liberal. -- "The Phantom of the Opus ('Opera')": story of an aversion that is turning into understanding." An article in a left-of-centre Italian magazine
• Gaspari, Antonio (June-July 1995). . Inside the Vatican. Provided courtesy of EWTN
• Howse, Christopher (October 2005). . Tablet.
• Introvigne, Massimo (May 1994). . Cristianità, 229, p. 3-12.
• König, Franz Cardinal (9 November 1975). . Corriere della Sera.
• Luciani, Albino Cardinal (John Paul I) (25 July 78). . Il Gazzettino Venice.
• Martin, James, S.J. (25 February 1995). . America Magazine.
• Martins, José Saraiva. (9 October 2002). . L'Osservatore Romano.
• -- an investigation (Un' indagine, the original Italian title) done by a journalist
• Neuhaus, Richard John (November 1995). . First Things, 57, p.71-87.
• Ratzinger, Joseph Cardinal (Benedict XVI) (9 October 2002). . L'Osservatore Romano Weekly Edition in English, p. 3.
• Royal, Robert (May 1998). . First Things. 83, p. 56-59.
• -- the first serious study on Opus Dei to be published, written by a French journalist

Sites supporting Opus Dei

• -- a former supernumerary's Q & A on Opus Dei
• -- members' testimonies
• -- website of writer Fr. McCloskey, priest of Opus Dei
• -- a publication of the Catholic League
• -- "The best links on Opus Dei" (in Spanish)
• -- A Personal Blog of Fr. John Wauck, a priest of Opus Dei

Critical sites

• - Ian Paisley's European Institute for Protestant Studies
• , created by former Opus Dei numeraries (in Spanish)
• (in French)
• (in Portuguese)

For an extensive bibliography and list of external links connected to Opus Dei, please see Opus Dei: Bibliography Opus Dei Opus Dei Opus Dei Opus Dei Opus Dei 오푸스 데이 Opus Dei Opus Dei אופוס דאי Opus Dei Opus Dei Opus Dei Opus Dei Opus Dei Опус Деи Opus Dei Opus Dei Opus Dei Opus Dei Opus Dei 主业会