A Prelature of the Sanctum Cross & Opus Dei, usually referred to as Opus Dei (Latin for "Work of God"), occurs as prelature created by the Roman Catholic Church, composed of a prelate, secular priests, & lay humans, whose mission is to spread the Catholic teaching that everyone is known as to get a saint by means of their day-to-day act & social relations. A Opus Dei Prelature "encourages Christians of all social classes to live consistently with their faith in the middle of the ordinary circumstances of their lives." [http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&s=307]

Opus Dei was founded in October 2, 1928 by a Roman Catholic priest Josemaría Escrivá who was canonized in 2002. Granted its number one official Catholic approval inside 1941, Opus Dei was established as a personal prelature by Pope John Paul II in 1982, making it a section of the hierarchical structure of the Roman Catholic Church under the Congregation for Bishops. One of a aims of the Opus Dei prelature, based on data from John Paul II, is to offer spiritual step by step training for average citizens world health organization obviously have their every day function & activities when occasions for spiritual incubation & for improving society.

When Popes & numbers of Catholic leaders strongly support what it view when Opus Dei's radical teachings in sanctity for average population & a sanctifying value of act, & keep close at hand declared that its practices form an integral a share of the most common patrimony of the Church, Opus Dei's critics accuse it of ultraconservative beliefs & cult-rather methods. Catholic scholars & a few laic leaders state that a prelature's teachings inaugurate the newly era around the Catholic Church, an era marked per loose activity of Christians world health organization sense fully responsible the sanctifying mission of the Church in society. Then again, its critics allege that prelature of Opus Dei occurs as closemouthed class action by having the correct-wing political agenda. Described by the select few observers when one of a virtually all controversial organizations in the Catholic Church, a few Catholic leaders & scholars call for it a sign of contradiction.

Foundation and mission

Opus Dei was founded by the Roman Catholic priest, Josemaria Escrivá, in 2 October 1928 in Madrid, Spain. Based on datthe from his household account, a introduction of Opus Dei got a "supernatural character." On it day he "saw Opus Dei."

Around his have words, a mission of Opus Dei is: Its independent activity is to "give a Christian formation to its members and to other people who wish to receive it." [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/conversations/point/27] Escrivá summarized Opus Dei's role as "a great catechesis."

from either either its early years, Opus Dei faced criticism & opposition from occasionally Catholic leaders, however as well enjoyed a trend lines of more Catholic officials, starting by using a Bishop of Madrid, Leopoldo Eijo y Garay. Years afterwards, Escrivá's vision of Opus Dei would become confirmed by Pope John Paul II, world health organization stated that Escrivá experienced founded Opus Dei ductus divina inspiratione, getting been led by divine inspiration.

Message and Teachings

, the large meeting of Catholic leaders & theologiser in the 20th Century: [http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/may/may-escriva.htm]

"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."''

Based on data from Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, Prefect of a Congregation for the Induces of Saints, "the message of St Josemaría belongs to the perennial patrimony of the Church." [http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CCSJOSMA.HTM] A as a result come a independent features of Escrivá 's spiritual teachings, a core message of Opus Dei. [http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=5397]

Ordinary life. Getting get members of God's personal across baptism, 100% Christians come known when to the life of sanctitude uniform by having their freshly nature and severity as tykes of God. "The majority of Christians," Escrivá writes, "should sanctify themselves in the world, through ordinary work." By this it watch Jesus who worked as a carpenter and lived as the son of a Jewish family in a little village for Xxx years. Sanctifying operate. Whatever work Christians do is to exist as done using the spirit of excellence as an efficacious service for the needs of society. Their operate so becomes the fitting offering to God. Around his function of service, Jesus Christ "did all things well." (Mk 7:37) Love for freedom. Christians should love their family freedom & that of others, because God a Boy himself, in becoming man, took on man freedom, sanctifying men across love: freely obeying his Father's may throughout his ordinary life, "until death on the cross." (Phil 2,8). By using his loose options ("because he wants to" (Is 53,7)), to each one human directs his life towards hell or even towards sanctitude, them ultimate roads of life. [[http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/friends_of_god/point/130] Prayer and mortification. Love, the essence of sanctity and apostolate, is nurtured by constant child-like prayer which is supported by [http://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/OPUSLIFE.TXT norms of piety] involving the Eucharist, confession, the Bible, and the Virgin Mary. Mortification, "prayer of the senses," is especially done through a sporting struggle to practice all the human virtues. [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way/point/813] "'Great' holiness consists in carrying out the 'little duties' of each moment." [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way/point/817] These actions are co-offered in the Holy Mass, the same redeeming sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the center and root of a Christian's life. Charity and apostolate. Christians are to give the highest importance to the virtue of charity:, giving the best to people--God, the source of peace and joy. Unity of life. A Christian who practices these teachings 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 true Christian's work is God's work, opus Dei. This Christian, despite all his defects, which he humbly tries to remove, is alter Christus, ipse Christus, another Christ, Christ himself. [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/christ_is_passing_by/point/104]

According to Escrivá, the foundation of Opus Dei's spirit is a personal awareness of the Christian's "divine filiation". [http://www.josemariaescriva.info/index.php?id_cat=38&id_scat=36] Divine filiation is the Christian's fundamental state as a daughter or son of God in Christ, a deep awareness of which brings about immense happiness. [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/furrow/point/61] Escrivá states: "Joy comes from knowing we are children of God." [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/friends_of_god/point/108] Opus Dei, he says, is "a smiling asceticism." (See [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/friends_of_god/point/146])

While Escrivá's teachings are viewed as important by many Catholic theologians, and some have even said that he "possesses the force of the classic writers, the temper of a Father of the Church," not all Catholic scholars have been impressed by them. In Opus Dei in the United States, Associate Editor of America Magazine, Jesuit Fr. James Martin (1995), says the maxims found in Escrivá's The Way range "from traditional Christian pieties...to sayings that could easily have come out of Poor Richard’s Almanack." For a fuller discussion, please see Teachings of Opus Dei.

Structure: Catholic personal prelature
Catholic Church officials consider those who practice Opus Dei teachings and feel called to a special vocation as forming a "spiritual family", of which Escrivá was the first head. On 28 November 1982, John Paul II granted the organisation a status intended to reflect this concept, that of a personal prelature. He described this legal framework as being "perfectly suited to Opus Dei" [http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CBISUTSI.HTM] (Fuenmayor et al, The Canonical Path of Opus Dei 1996) and as consistent with its specific characteristics of being international in scope and under one head, of including both clergy and laity working as one with no distinctions, and of being for both men and women. Being a part of the Church's hierarchical structure, like a diocese, indicates that Opus Dei is a part of the Church itself, and not a mere product of voluntary association.

Critics, like Kenneth Woodward of Newsweek, say that Opus Dei is so powerful that it has become independent from Catholic Church authority, a "church within the Church." [http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/bulletin/eddesk.nsf/All/FFCE5D9C810F6C1BCA256C44001ACCC7] Catholic officials, on the other hand, say that personal prelature is an ordinary ecclesiastical structure. Like dioceses and military ordinariates, personal prelatures are under the governance of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops, for they take charge of lay people with their own secular clergy and prelate, unlike the religious orders which are under the Congregation for the Religious, and which take charge of nuns, monks, friars, religious priests, and lay orders which follow religious practices. Like military ordinariates, personal prelatures take charge of persons with some particular objectives, regardless of diocesan geographical boundaries. As Catholic faithful, the lay members of Opus Dei "continue to be ... under the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop in what the law lays down for all the ordinary faithful." [http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CBISUTSI.HTM]

Vocation and membership types
In "Vocation to Opus Dei as Vocation in the Church," F. Ocariz (Opus Dei in the Church 1994) says that all the members of the Catholic Church are called to follow Christ and become saints. Within this common vocation, each Christian has a specific God-given path, whether it is to become a parish priest, a nun, a Christian teacher, etc. For the faithful of Opus Dei, starting with Escrivá, their path is to pursue the mission of Opus Dei. Opus Dei members, Ocariz says, have "one vocation", because they are called to have the same apostolic aim, to practice the same spirit and ascetical means, and receive the same formation. Because of this "oneness of vocation," Ocariz says that Opus Dei has a Christian family atmosphere. Members call the prelate as "the Father."

As they are not religious nor consecrated persons like the clergy, 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 he has received a vocation. While there is only one vocation in Opus Dei, members are differentiated according the degree of their availability to be in charge of apostolic tasks. (Thierry 1975)

Supernumeraries

, currently about 70% of total membership. Generally they are married men or women, for whom the sanctification of their family duties is the "most important business," in the words of Escrivá. Supernumeraries are the least available for the formational tasks but assist in them as their circumstances permit.

According to V. 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."

Celibate members

Numeraries, who comprise less than 20% of the membership, practice celibacy so as to be totally available to the formational tasks of the prelature. Taken from Spanish and Latin American academy and government, numerary generally refers to a person whose incorporation to a society is fixed. For more information on this civil term, please see Numerary.

.

Associates typically do not live in Opus Dei centres. Their personal circumstances do not permit them to be as available to the prelature's work as a numerary. It is generally from the numeraries and associates that the prelate calls men to the priesthood.

Numerary assistants are women of Opus Dei who attend to the domestic needs of the centres of Opus Dei. Since there is only one vocation, they are equal to the rest of the faithful. And because Opus Dei gives importance to material things, a Christian materialism Escrivá calls it, he used to call the work of the numerary assistants as "the apostolate of apostolates."

The Priestly Society of the Holy Cross. This Priestly Society is an association of clergy intrinsically united to Opus Dei which they say promotes brotherhood among priests and their personal sanctification: a life of unity with all his brother priests and of obedience to his bishop.

For non-members who collaborate with the faithful of the Prelature, please see Cooperators of Opus Dei.

Doctrine, instruction and training

.

Critics say that Opus Dei's training is overly rigid and strict. Others even say it is manipulative and controlling. According to G. Romano (1995) in Opus Dei: Who? How? Why?, spiritual and ascetical training in Opus Dei is intended to develop the members' life of piety and foster their practice of the human virtues, habits which are developed through the repetition of free decisions, like love for the truth, self-discipline, and generosity. These habits of human excellence, according to Escrivá, are the "foundation" of supernatural habits like faith and love for God. Having given them this formation, the prelature considers that it "has nothing else to do...Here begins," Escrivá says, "the free and responsible personal action of each member." [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/conversations/point/19]

Novelty of doctrine

Opus Dei's teachings have received both support and criticisms. John Paul II said that 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. Benedict XVI, three years before becoming Pope, said that Escrivá's example and teaching that he merely put himself at the disposal of God in His Work is "an extremely important message… that leads to overcoming the great temptation of our time: the pretence that after the 'big bang' God retired from history." Many Church officials and scholars have said that Opus Dei has a revolutionary theological doctrine and anthropology, teachings which will have a decisive influence in the future of the Church and the world. [http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9805/reviews/royal.html]Through the doctrine of the sanctifying value of daily work, ordinary people, the great bulk of the world-wide Church, now have a genuine "lay spirituality" which can take them to heights of sanctity. This is a radical departure, according to Cardinal Luciani, who later became John Paul I, from the previous practice of applying religious spirituality to lay people.

Opus Dei's teaching that everyone is called to holiness, a doctrine which was half-forgotten for most of Christian history, has become a leitmotif of contemporary Christianity. For a longer discussion and quotes from Catholic leaders, please see Opus Dei and Catholic Church Leaders.

Controversies and their sources

In the work of spreading this message marked by novelty, Opus Dei faced challenges, misunderstandings and controversies, leading some Catholic bishops and theologians to see Opus Dei as a sign of contradiction, a "sign that is spoken against." (Lk 2:34) Fr. James Martin, S.J., (1995) says that Opus Dei is "the most controversial group in the Catholic Church today… To its critics it is a powerful, even dangerous, cult-like organisation that uses secrecy and manipulation to advance its agenda." [http://www.americamagazine.org/articles/martin-opusdei.cfm] Cardinal Julian Herranz, a member of Opus Dei in the Roman Curia, says, "Opus Dei has become a victim of Christian-phobia," But in fact, he said, "more people today love Opus Dei than don't." 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 outside the cloisters, and without public vows and distinct clothing like habits. Also, these critics were concerned that it would take away vocations from the religious orders. Some writers say that invidia clericorum (envy of clerics) is also involved in this attack. (Messori 1997, Estruch 1995)

Based on reports from Spain, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Wlodimir Ledochowski (1866–1942), told the Vatican that he considered Opus Dei "very dangerous for the Church in Spain." He described it as having a "secretive character" and that "there are signs in it of a covert inclination to dominate the world with a form of Christian Masonry." This first of the controversies against Opus Dei generated within well-regarded ecclesiastical circles ("the opposition by good people" says St. Josemaria) 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 view of historians A. Vasquez de Prada (1997) and P. Berglar (1994) and investigative journalists V. Messori (1997) and J. Allen (2005). [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7288539/site/newsweek/]

Some critics however say 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 but the work of a man — Escrivá — whose aims evolved through time. At one point, he just wanted to modernise Spain. Thus, Opus Dei became both conservative in doctrine and modern in its work ethic. On the other hand, Fr. James V. Schall, S.J., Professor of Political Science at Georgetown University, says that Estruch's work is subjective, arbitrary and unscientific. Schall gives as an example that for Estruch priests go to seminary only to improve their lot. [http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Periodicals/Homiletic/0809-96/8/8.html]

Fidelity and truth vs. ultraconservatism

Benedict XVI says that Opus Dei is "this surprising union of absolute fidelity to the Church’s great tradition, to its faith, and unconditional openness to all the challenges of this world." Its critics, on the other hand, say that Opus Dei promotes an overly conservative or reactionary vision of the Roman Catholic faith. They see Opus Dei as "the shock troops" of John Paul II's "ultraconservative, restorationist papacy," and now of Benedict XVI. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7288539/site/newsweek/]

Catholic analysts, in contrast, say that conservative is mainly and originally a political category which is perverted when used for religious, moral, or intellectual matters. These should be categorised as either faithful or heretical, good or evil, true or false. And as regards these matters, the Catholic Church, say these analysts, is "the church of the living God, the pillar and the bulwark of the truth." (1 Tim 3:15)

The present prelate, Bishop Javier Echevarría also says that everything in the Church is "conservative," for it conserves the Gospel of Christ. Similarly, everything in it is "progressive" because she looks toward the future, puts faith in young people, seeks no privileges, and is close to the poor. Some Opus Dei supporters also refer to the traditionalists who criticise Opus Dei's support for the Second Vatican Council's teaching on ecumenism and the laity.

Escrivá also says, "Religion is the greatest rebellion of men who do not want to live like beasts." Hedonism, he says, is the real primitivism or ultraconservatism. Critics, on the other hand, say that Opus Dei has an ultraconservative way of treating women.

Women in Opus Dei

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 lead their operations separate from the men. They are united in the Prelate and in practising the spirit of Opus Dei. Writing for Catholics for a Free Choice, G. Urquhart, a former Catholic priest, in his report Conservative Catholic Influence in Europe describes Opus Dei "as one of the most reactionary organisations in the Roman Catholic Church today...for its devotion to promoting, as public policy, the Vatican's inflexibly traditionalist approach to women, sexuality, and reproductive health." Critics, including some ex-Opus Dei members, accused it of "sexist exploitation" of women, who they say were restricted in Opus Dei-run hostels to doing domestic work.

In response, supporters say that men and women are equal in Opus Dei. 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." [http://www.history.emory.edu/faculty/foxgenovese.html]

Supporters say that there are many women of Opus Dei who, by sanctifying their professional work, have proved themselves to be achievers in their field: business, fashion, learning, journalism, etc. But, they say, these women always consider it a progressive, strategically effective service to society to work in their home and for the family, a chief determinant of the future. All these is what Bishop Echevarría calls "authentic feminism."

Opus Dei and Catholic demands

For Escrivá, the level of what can be demanded of Christians was established by Jesus Christ who offered his whole life for each human being. [[http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_forge/point/141] The teachings of the founder of Opus Dei on a demanding Christian life are fully supported by the Popes who state that these are biblical and traditional Christian demands which God helps the Christian fulfill. On the other hand, for some people Opus Dei's demands are cultic. These critics view Opus Dei as a sect within the Church, an accusation which the Catholic Church deems self-contradictory as sects refer to heretical and schismatic entities and not to organizations which are very faithful to the Church. However, Opus Dei's opponents insist on the accusation due to its practices which they deem questionable.

Radical demands of Christian sanctity

In Holiness and the World, a theological symposium on Escrivá's teachings held in Rome in 1993, theologian Prof. Antonio Aranda ("The Christian, alter Christus, ipse Christus in the thought of Josemaria Escrivá") and Prof. William May ("Holiness and ordinary life in the teaching of St. Josemaría Escrivá" [http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/may/may-escriva.htm]), are one with former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who said in the Opening Message of the symposium that the Escrivá teachings on sanctity is "Christ-centered." In the life and writings of Escrivá, there is "a very vivid sense of the presence of Christ." According to Catholic theologians, the logic behind becoming a saint --another Christ, Christ himself-- is rooted in the following premises: Christians believe that (1) they are creatures whose substratum is nothingness, (2) Christ is the living God (their Intelligent Creator, All-comprehensive Sustainer, Sole Satisfier: I AM WHO AM himself who became a man making friends with other men), (3) Christ is their loving Savior, the new head of the human race who transmits his divine sonship to men: "the race of the children of God," [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/christ_is_passing_by/point/106] (4) "This Christ who is alive is also a Christ who is near," says Ratzinger about Escrivá's thought, "a Christ in whom the power and majesty of God make themselves present through ordinary, simple, human things," (5) Personally present in the Eucharistic bread, Christ makes himself "totally available" to nourish the Christian in order to become "one single thing with him." [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/christ_is_passing_by/point/153] With God himself dwelling in the soul as an unfailing friend, a new principle of energy, and given the support of the Christ's family, the Church, with Holy Mary, St. Joseph, the Pope, and other Christians, the difficult ideal of becoming a saint, another Christ, is "also easy. It is within reach," Escrivá states. [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/christ_is_passing_by/point/160]

Becoming a saint is shunned, according to Ratzinger (2002), when there is a "mistaken concept of holiness...a thing 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." [http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=4761]

With the Holy Spirit (Love Himself) present in the soul, preached Escrivá, the human spirit which was created to love is enabled to give himself as a loving gift to God in all ordinary circumstances. Thus, one of his favourite teachings is the biblical injunction that human beings 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) [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/christ_is_passing_by/point/59]

"Christian faith and calling affect our whole existence, not just a part of it," he says in one of his published homilies. "Our relations with God necessarily demand giving ourselves, giving ourselves completely." [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/christ_is_passing_by/point/46] This, for Escrivá is the "good use of freedom, when it finds its true meaning...put in the service of the truth which redeems.... [This] is the 'glorious freedom of the children of God'...to be always young, generous, capable of high ideals and great sacrifices." [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/friends_of_god/point/27]

Wanting to be ipse Christus, says Opus Dei's founder, means being "eager to be co-redeemers with Christ." Benedict XVI reiterated this: "Anyone who has discovered Christ must lead others to him. A great joy cannot be kept to oneself. It has to be passed on," says Benedict XVI at the World Youth Day of August 2005 in Cologne. [http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=75218]

According to Catholic officials, Escrivá's teachings are Christ's who demanded sanctity from all his disciples. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 546) says that Jesus "asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything (Mt 13:44-45);" it states that the "Church's first purpose is to be the sacrament of the inner union of men with God." (CCC 775) The Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, "a program for all times" written by John Paul II "at the beginning of the new millennium," placed sanctity, "the fullness of the Christian life," as the single most important priority of all pastoral activities in the universal Church. And for this, Catholics should proclaim God's Word "without ever hiding the most radical demands of the Gospel message." These demands, Benedict XVI adds, are "not a burden: (Christianity) is like having wings," [http://www.catholicireland.net/newsroom/article.php?artid=1329] a metaphor on the spiritual life that Escrivá also frequently used. (e.g. [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/friends_of_god/point/177] and [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/friends_of_god/point/249])

Allegations of being a cult

Opus Dei is sometimes said to be a cult inside the Catholic Church. Dr. Alberto Moncada, for example, a doctor in law and a sociologist, says that Opus Dei is an "intraecclesial" sect, stating that in the Vatican "radical rightist groups and fundamentalisms are tolerated." (See "Catholic Sects: Opus Dei" in Revista Internacional de Sociología, Madrid 1992) Robert Hutchison, author of Their Kingdom Come: Inside the Secret World of Opus Dei, says that Opus Dei "possesses many of the characteristics of a dangerous sect." ("[http://home.netcom.com/%7Emjr40/od/guardian.html The Vatican's Own Cult]," The Guardian, September 10, 1997)

Another critical perspective comes from the Opus Dei Awareness Network, Inc. or [http://www.odan.org ODAN] , an organization led by Diane DiNicola, the mother of Tammy, a former numerary. ODAN, like its Spanish counterpart [http://www.opuslibros.org/nuevaweb Opuslibros], provides “support to people who have been adversely affected by Opus Dei" and "challenges" many practices of Opus Dei. These critics make the following claims. Opus Dei members use aggressive recruitment methods (love bombing) and threaten condemnation. New recruits lack "informed consent". Members lose contact with their families, and eventually lose their freedom through mental and emotional conditioning, thus making their lives revolve around proselytism. Numeraries are required to perform practices of mortification of the flesh — the discipline and the cilice [http://www.odan.org/tw_deception_and_drugs.htm]. Also, Opus Dei's founder wrote in The Way, [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way/point/208 point 208]: "Let us bless pain. Love pain. Sanctify pain… Glorify pain!"

Some former high-ranking Opus Dei members are critical, such as Maria Carmen del Tapia, who wrote Beyond the Threshold in 1998, and was a member for 18 years.

Opus Dei is classified as a sect or a "group of interest" by cult research organisations like The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA), which was formed by parents concerned that their children were involved in cults, and The Rick A. Ross Institute (RRI).

Sociologist Dr. Jean Duhaime of the university of Montreal say that people who leave their religious oroganization do write atrocity stories, but he asserts that their stories cannot be dismissed only because they are subjective. He further wrote that there can be no doubt about their sincerity and that one of the reasons why they write their stories is to warn others to be careful and to bring order in their own lives. The sociologist Benjamin Zablocki performed empirical research to compare the reliability of the stories of leavers and stayers and came to the conclusion that there was no difference.

Views of sociologists of religion. The sociologist Dr. Bryan Wilson, Reader Emeritus of Sociology of the University of Oxford, says that one of the reasons for the claims that Opus Dei is a cult is that people leaving religious groups can feel themselves in need of self-justification. A person who leaves may then view himself as a victim who has been hurt by the organization. To regain his self-esteem, he rehearses an atrocity story, "to explain how, by manipulation, coercion or deceit, he was recruited to a group that he now condemns." Later he together with others like him become “redeemed crusaders.� These leavers, whose views are distorted, “cannot be regarded as reliable informants by responsible journalists, scholars, or jurists."

Catholic scholar and sociologist Dr. Massimo Introvigne of CESNUR, in response to Zablocki's book, says that "critics of the anticult position still enjoy a comfortable majority in studies of New Religious Movements (a fact both acknowledged and lamented by Zablocki and Beit-Hallahmi)." [http://www.cesnur.org/2001/mi_dic03.htm]. Introvigne also says that the international anti-cult movement is influenced by (1) relativist and secularist forces who deny that truth exists even in religious matters. Thus, he says, mainline scientists reject as “unscholarly� the reports of anti-cult activists, including their method of labeling organisations, [http://www.cesnur.org/library/whatisit.htm] and (2) anti-catholicism. The latter, according to Protestant scholar, Dr. Philip Jenkins, is the “last acceptable prejudice� in the West. Introvigne says that these activists have made Opus Dei their "prime target," for they cannot tolerate "il ritorno del religioso" [the return of the religious].

Dr. L. Kliever, who studied this issue upon the request of the Church of Scientology, stated that “the overwhelming majorityâ€? of leavers of religious organisations “harbour no ill will.â€? Opus Dei has the same experience, supporters state, since, according to Escrivá, "not only does it respect its members' freedom, it helps them to become fully aware of it." Thus, supporters say, many former members continue to have good relations with Opus Dei.

Christ-centered theology and education. While members of Opus Dei commit mistakes 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, says Cardinal Schönborn, editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. "A group is a sect when it is not recognized." [http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHRIST/ORSECTS.HTM]

One of the roots of the misunderstanding, Catholic officials say, is a miseducation on the Christian calling. The Catechism says: "Parents must remember and teach that the first vocation of the Christian is to follow Jesus: 'He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.' (Mt 10:37)"

Escrivá's Christ-centered theology, supporters say, urges Christians to live like Christ in everything, even if their behaviour "clashes" with a "paganized environment". [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way/point/380] Supporters say that the cult-like behavior described by the anti-cult groups was the behavior of Jesus Christ: He single-mindedly focused his entire life on saving all souls to please his Father. While he loved his mother, he left her in favor of his divine mission. For this, he showered affection on people, but also issued many warnings out of love for them: against easy-going and fruitless Christians, against infidelity, etc. While he searched for friends and clearly spoke the truth, he allowed them to freely do whatever they wanted — including rejecting him. He also told his disciples, "As the Father has sent me so do I send you." To glorify God and sanctify men, Christ enjoyed pleasures and pleasantries with them, and he also voluntarily practiced mortification of the flesh: fasting, sleeping on the ground, and allowing himself to be tortured and crucified. He taught that his disciple should “renounce himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.�

As regards Escrivá's teaching on pain and sanctity, supporters also refer to John Paul II's Apostolic Letter on the Salvific Meaning of Suffering: "Suffering, more than anything else, makes present in the history of humanity the powers of the Redemption" . [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris_en.html]. For the Catholic theology on pain and sanctity, please see Mortification of the flesh.

At present, the perception remains that Opus Dei is a Catholic organization whose mission is approved and encouraged by the Church but which is also accused of "cult-like practices," as when the press reported on the statue of St. Josemaria which was placed in a niche of the outside wall of St. Peter's Basilica last September 14, 2005. [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-pope-opus-dei,1,4144192.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines]

Canonisation of Opus Dei's founder

According to Catholic officials, Opus Dei's founder practiced the radical demands of Christianity that he preached. John Paul II's Decree Christifeles omnes on Escrivá's heroic virtues says: "Faithful to the charism he had received, he gave an example of heroism in the most ordinary situations." On 6 October 2002, John Paul II canonised Escrivá, calling him "the Saint of Ordinary Life."

During the canonisation, there were 42 cardinals and 470 bishops from around the world, general superiors of many orders and religious congregations, and representatives of various Catholic groups. According to Catholic officials, one-third of the world's bishops petitioned for the canonisation of Escrivá. This number, and the number of people who attended and who reported miracles were unprecedented.

Critics, however, say that the process of canonisation was lightning fast and plagued with irregularities. Opus Dei allegedly pressured and bought bishops to write glowing reports about Escrivá.

On the other hand, Catholic officials state that it was the promoters' efficiency, the reforms on the canonisation process, and the importance of Escrivá's figure in the Church that made the process move fast, although in terms of materials and number of sessions it was the longest to date. Moreover, there are many other saints who were canonised with more speed than him.

There are other members of Opus Dei whose process of beatification have been opened: Ernesto Cofiño, a father of five and a pioneer in pediatric research in Guatemala, Montse Grases, a teenage Catalan student, Toni Zweifel, a Swiss engineer, and the successor of St. Josemaria as head of Opus Dei, Bishop Alvaro del Portillo.

Opus Dei in society

Mission and general strategy

While critics say that Opus Dei is a secretive, right-wing group interested in spreading a conservative ideology, Catholic officials say that Opus Dei is God's Work performing a divine operation in society. They say that the prelature of Opus Dei mobilises Christians to "put Christ on top of all human activities."

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 doctrine, is to become a saint, another Christ redeeming all men, and thus, also an ethical social influence and a responsible citizen. "These world crises," he says, "are crises of saints." [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way/point/817]

Membership profile

The Vatican Yearbook indicates that Opus Dei has 85,000 members about 1,900 of whom are priests. Of these 1,900 priests, 25 are bishops working in various dioceses. Members are distributed as follows: Africa 1600; Asia and the Pacific 4700; Americas, North and South 29,000; Europe 48,700.

In terms of educational level, income and social status, V. Messori says that there is a predominance of middle-to-low levels among the members of Opus Dei. In Spain and Latin America, for example, Opus Dei is predominantly popular among laborers and campesinos. (1997, p. 84) Gomez Perez, in Opus Dei: Una Explicación, says that Opus Dei's social composition shows a correspondence with the local situation, because, he says, all honest trades can be sanctified. He also says that there are more teachers and professors among its ranks than the normal social composition because of Opus Dei's emphasis on the intellectual apostolate.

Critics, however, accuse Opus Dei of elitism. They say that Opus Dei has amassed both power and wealth. On the other hand, John Allen in Opus Dei: Secrets and Power in the Catholic Church, says that 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. The worldwide revenue of Opus Dei is that of a mid-sized American diocese. He also says that Opus Dei has only 39 bishops out of the 4,564 in the world. And there are only 20 members out of 3920 working in the Vatican. [http://www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/book_review.cgi?past-00255] As to real estate holdings, Opus Dei's holdings are notably inferior to those of the religious orders, says V. Messori. "Monks live in communities that require houses, while 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 [http://www.geocities.com/info_opus_dei/opus-dei-en.htm Information Handbook on the Opus Dei Prelature].

Activities and work
Having received formation on the need to help society, Opus Dei members also undertake many social initiatives, according to the Prelature: youth development centres, schools, hospitals, technical training centres, farm schools, and inner-city tutoring programs. For example, in the United States, members operate one college and five secondary schools, and tutoring programs in Chicago, New York City, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.. The U.S. National Headquarters is in 243 Lexington Avenue (Lexington Avenue & E. 34th Street) New York. For more information regarding corporate works of Opus Dei and apostolic initiatives of members of Opus Dei all over the world, please see [http://opusdeisites.tripod.com/ Corporate Works of Opus Dei].

In 1989, Michael Walsh, a former Jesuit, adducing conspiracy theories, wrote Opus Dei: An Investigation into the Secret Society Struggling for Power Within the Roman Catholic Church. In 1995, Fr. James Martin, a Jesuit writer, says that Opus Dei continues to be secretive in its operations and has undue influence on the Vatican. Rumors do circulate that Opus Dei is connected with the CIA. Thus, given all the foregoing allegations (cult-like, ultraconservative, secretive, power-hungry), Opus Dei has been depicted by Dan Brown as a sinister organization in his novel The Da Vinci Code.

The book, says Opus Dei, is "a work of fiction" and "not a reliable source of information" on Christian history and theology. [http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=7017] Professional journalist John Allen says that the allegation of secrecy and pursuit of power is a misunderstanding of its stress on humility and its novel secular nature: members do not put up official Catholic institutions and act on their own name as private citizens. Opus Dei, he says, puts out so much information that it can't be said to be secretive. Some historians and journalists state that the accusation of secrecy and power-seeking was started by Jesuits in the 1940s. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7288539/site/newsweek/]

Escrivá says that Opus Dei's influence in society is not socio-economic but ethical: rich and poor work together to build a society which is more human, just, and progressive. He 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) [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/conversations/point/24]

Despite these statements of Opus Dei ideals--and according to some, precisely because of these ideals, Opus Dei continues to be hounded with accusations that it uses secrecy to gain political and economic power.

Freedom and pluralism vs. far-right politics

Cornelio Fabro, eminent Italian philosopher and founder of the Institute for Higher Studies on Unbelief, Religion and Cultures, said of Escrivá: "A new man for the new times of the Church of the future, Josemaria Escrivá ... has 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.� [http://en.romana.org/?s=8.0&n=33&ID=1] John Allen 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."

However, Opus Dei's professed political pluralism is contested by its critics. They refer to the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 2003 which says: Opus Dei "gained national importance after the Spanish civil war, when it received support from government of Francisco Franco. In the 1950s and 60s it replaced the Falange as the most important conservative political and religious force in Spain." Fr. V. Felzmann, a former member, also says that Escrivá was sympathetic to Hitler.

V. Messori, who investigated the "Franco issue" of Opus Dei, says that this is a longstanding "black legend," a "myth" stoked by enemies of Opus Dei. He says that a very small percentage of the total number of Franco's ministers (8 of 116) were Opus Dei members. Historian Prof. Berglar, an Opus Dei member, says that it is a "gross slander" to connect Opus Dei with Franco's regime because he persecuted members of Opus Dei who were pro-democracy leaders. Supporters also say that all these are due to Spaniards' narrow-minded projection of their one-party mentality to Opus Dei. Felzmann's statement, the prelature says, contradicts his own written testimony that Escrivá is "a saint for today." For a fuller discussion, please see Opus Dei and allegations of involvement in far-right politics.

Revolutionary or conservative?

The debate about Opus Dei and its role in politics continues. The two diametrically opposed positions can be seen in how they interpret point 353 of Escrivá's The Way:

Critics say that this type of counsel makes it impossible for Opus Dei members to be free in political matters. [http://www.odan.org/escriva_to_franco.htm] This type of teaching, they say, creates an ideology of "National Catholicism." It puts Opus Dei members squarely on the political right: a conservative influence in world affairs, promoting the Vatican's traditionalist policies. [http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/011802/011802f.htm]

of each soul: the battle between the powers of evil and the powers of the God-man, who, in union with his descendants, "never loses battles," in the words of Opus Dei's founder. [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_forge/point/102]

According to Escrivá, "face-to-face with God," there is no room for "anonymity": either one decides to be his friend or his foe. [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/friends_of_god/36] 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." [http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way/point/755] His supporters say that it is when Christians all over the world are completely faithful to the [http://www.ewtn.com/library/Theology/RATZBEAU.HTM Beauty of Truth, Jesus Christ], then "the greatest revolution of all time would take place," according to what they see as the prophetic vision of Opus Dei's founder. [http://www.murrayhillinstitute.org/Pages/conference_2002.html].

Many writers, whether they have taken a stand that Opus Dei is God's revolutionary Work or a conservative group of power-seekers, or have decided to take another kind of stand, have presented these varying views about Opus Dei.

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 personal prelature. John Paul II appoints del Portillo as prelate 1992: May 17. Beatification of the founder, a highly criticized event 2002: October 6. Canonisation of the founder. John Paul II calls Escrivá "Saint of Ordinary Life"

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

Bibliography and external links

For an extensive bibliography and list of external links connected to Opus Dei, please see Opus Dei: Bibliography and External Links

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