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EXAMINATION OF OPUS DEITHE
Jesuits have been around longer, but Opus Dei is rapidly |
Although the organisation is fairly secretive, it received unprecedented publicity earlier this year when 150,000 members descended on Rome for the beatification of the organisation's founder, Monsignor Jose Maria Escriva de Balaguer. Opus Dei (literally, the work of God) originated in Spain in 1928, but has now spread its network through 80 countries. Many of its members are recruited at school and university. Although only 2% of Opus Dei members are priests, the organisation's adherents dedicate themselves to prayer and self-discipline. The real masochists live in residencies run by the Opus Dei, where they practise self-flagellation and wear uncomfortable spikes on the inside of their trousers. But most members of the society live outwardly normal lives and keep their membership of Opus Dei a secret, even from close friends and relatives. |
Outsiders hoping to identify members of Opus Dei must look for tell-tale signs. Somewhere in the house of most members will be a small model of a donkey, representing the ass that Christ used to enter Jerusalem. A whiff of Atkinson's cologne, the favourite of Escriva, is also a giveaway.
Some outsiders, alarmed by the organisation's numerical strength, secrecy and reactionary beliefs, regard it as a rather sinister force. Others credit the organisation's philosophy of salvation through hard work with helping to infuse southern Europe with an equivalent of the Protestant work ethic. But, politically, Opus Dei's influence seems to have declined since the 1960s, when its members played a dominant role in the Spanish government.
There was, however, a row in Ireland when it was discovered that the country's chief justice, responsible for enforcing the country's Draconian anti-abortion laws when a 12-year-old rape victim sought an abortion, was a member of Opus Dei. And whatever Opus Dei's influence in the secular world, inside the church itself the organisation is prospering. Many of the pope's entourage are members, and Escriva seems well on his way to sainthood.
Power Secrecy Organisation Beliefs Rituals Exclusivity 5 5 5 5 5 5 The Economist Volume 325.
May 22, 1997
A missionary from ABWE in Peru reports to us by E-Mail that the greatest persecution in Peru comes, not from Shining Path, the Communist terrorists-- It comes from Opus Dei, and they are particularly treacherous in the countryside in attacking the Baptist and Bible believing Christians. The Pope must be very proud of his murderous soldiers in Peru.
FROM THE SCOTSMAN January 2005
IT
SITS on a hill, a villa of honey-coloured stone in a leafy suburb on the south
side of Glasgow, and gives no hint of what goes on behind its sturdy walls.
This is the Scottish headquarters of Opus
Dei, which translates from the Latin as "God's work", a term familiar to the
120,000 Scots who have bought copies of The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown's
global bestselling novel. The thriller centres on a search for the Holy Grail
which is hampered by a villainous member of Opus Dei.
Dunreath,
the house in Glasgow, is not home to a murderous monk, though self-flagellation,
as featured in the novel, is practised here.
The Catholic organisation,
founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaria Escriv, has long been mired in controversy.
It has been described by critics as a cult and dismissed by one theologian as
"the Mafia - shrouded in white". Yet its members enjoy the personal favour of
Pope John Paul II, who made its founder a saint in 2002, in spite of his close
ties to the dictator General Franco.
In recent weeks, the media
spotlight has focused on Opus Dei after the appointment of Ruth Kelly as Secretary
of State for Education.
While Ms Kelly has refused, as recently
as this week, to confirm or deny her involvement with the group, The Scotsman
has established that she is, indeed, a "supernumerary", as married members of
Opus Dei are described.
Last week, the Archdiocese of Westminster
announced that a parish had been entrusted to an Opus Dei priest, evidence of
a thaw in relations. The late Basil Hume, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster,
viewed the group with deep suspicion.
His concern centred on what
he believed to be the group's manipulative recruitment techniques. His official
biographer, Anthony Howard, said this week that Hume regarded them as he would
the "Moonies".
Yet Opus Dei has recently embarked on a
PR offensive, using The Da Vinci Code and the appointment of Ms Kelly to promote
its agenda.
Jack Valero, Opus Dei's British press spokesman, is
upbeat. He says: "Ten million people have now heard of Opus Dei thanks to The
Da Vinci Code. That can only be a good thing - 2005 is going to be the year of
Opus Dei."
Ronnie Convery, the director of communications for the
late Cardinal Thomas Winning, and now for Mario Conti, the Archbishop of Glasgow,
was a member for many years before leaving after he found it too demanding.
"As a student, I was quite taken with the idea that you could have a vocation
to work in the world, and not flee from it, which is a central plank of Opus Dei's
message," he says.
"So it seemed an obvious step to take to join
in 1990. Over the years, I found the long daily list of prayers, devotions and
customs too demanding for me. So I left after eight years. I had read horror stories
of people being pressurised to stay in. Instead, the guy with whom I discussed
it said simply: "Better to be a happy former member of Opus Dei than an unhappy
member".
The question is: what is Opus Dei's role in Scotland,
where they have three large properties, all in Glasgow? In order to dispel the
image of a shadowy organisation, the group, when approached by The Scotsman, opened
its doors.
"We�ve really nothing to hide," said Dermot Grenham
as he sat in a comfortable armchair in one of the many elegant rooms at Dunreath,
Opus Dei's centre for men, where, until this week, he was the director.
"Opus Dei's role is to do God's work out in the world. We are here to help
people become saints," he said.
The Church's philosophy is that
every man, woman and child - priest and laity - has a universal calling to holiness
and the capability to become a saint. In Opus Dei, unlike many Catholic institutions,
the power lies with the laity. The group�s global membership is about 85,000,
only 2,000 of whom are priests; the remainder are different types of members.
While the organisation is most powerful in Spain and Latin America,
where prominent politicians are among its number, in Britain there are only 520
members, of whom about 50 are based in Scotland.
It is an extremely
wealthy body, with a net worth in Britain of about $20 million, largely due to
its property and a chain of student halls of residence, which help recruitment.
Tommy Burns, the former Celtic player, has, in the past, attended
Opus Dei meetings, while Archbishop Conti dined at Dunreath before Christmas.
There are four types of Opus Dei member:
• A
numerary, such as Mr Grenham, is a celibate member who lives in an Opus Dei house,
segregated by gender, and donates his or her full salary to the group, retaining
only what is required for clothes, etc, to carry out the daily "civilian" job.
• An associate is, again, a celibate member but who, for personal
reasons such as looking after an elderly parent, does not live in community. Such
members continue to donate any unrequired income to the organisation.
• A supernumerary is a married member, such as Ruth Kelly, many of whom make
a monthly donation, though no amount is prescribed, and follow Opus Dei�s spiritual
formation on a daily basis.
• A co-operator is not a proper
member. Instead, he or she is a registered supporter who, in exchange for services,
receives "indulgences", or spiritual benefits.
All official members
follow a prescribed process of prayer, meditation and daily mass, and regularly
read The Way, a book of 999 maxims written by St Josemar'a Escriv.
While supernumeraries offer small "mortifications", or discomforts, such as keeping
the heating low or forgoing sugar in their tea, numeraries of both sexes induce
physical discomfort by wearing a cilice - a wire band round the thigh which irritates
the skin - often for an hour each day, and by whipping themselves with a knotted
rope, known as "the discipline", once a week.
"It may seem very
strange to the outside world, but these mortifications have been a part of the
Catholic Church for centuries," says Mr Grenham, who insists they are optional
and do not draw blood.
In the past, one controversial aspect of
Opus Dei's work has been among the young. The late Cardinal Hume issued instructions
that Opus Dei should not permit anyone under the age of 18 to join and, even then,
any admissions should be only in consultation with the parents.
In Scotland, both the male and female centres in Glasgow operate sport and activity
clubs for children. The Dunreath Club has a junior section for boys aged between
ten and 12 and a senior section for those 13-16.
Many of those who
attend are the children of members, and those who are not require parental permission.
The centre�s library is available to pupils for private study, which encourages
teenagers to become more involved with the group.
However, the parent
of one teenage boy, who was pursued to join Opus Dei, described its methods as
"spiritual grooming". The man, who did not wish to be named, said he had felt
compelled to contact an Opus Dei priest and insist he no longer contacted his
son.
"I'm very uncomfortable with their methods," he said. "They
are extreme in their behaviour, in their practice, and I remain very suspicious
of them."
In Glasgow, as in Opus Dei across the world, the men and
women are separated by more than the River Clyde.
In the drawing
room of a West End town house that is home to seven female numeraries, Eileen
Cole, a member for 27 years, explained that the sexes rarely meet and are content
to proselytise among their own gender. However, female members are expected to
organise all the cooking and cleaning for the men. This is in keeping with the
founder�s view of the role of women, which many people find deeply sexist.
"If we didn't do it, they would be living like savages," says Ms Cole.
"Women are simply better at these things than men."
She describes
her vocation as rewarding and says: "The Work [as members describe Opus Dei] has
made me less self-centred. It helps you to spend your life being of service to
others."
The vast majority of members of Opus Dei, however, are
supernumeraries. There are 21 female supernumeraries in Scotland, such as Clare
McDonald, 42, a mother of six children.
The former GP says: "We
live in an utterly secular society today, and I�ve found Opus Dei a tremendous
help in maintaining my own moral and spiritual values. It�s something you can
do quietly. You can turn your daily tasks into a prayer."
Unlike
many members who are angry at their group�s portrayal in The Da Vinci Code,
Mrs McDonald thinks it "cool". She jokes: "Now, if people ask about Opus Dei,
I tell them, "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."
WOMEN OF GOD
WHEN Josemar'a Escriv founded Opus Dei in 1928, "God's Work" was strictly for men only.
Two years later, however, the Spanish priest changed his mind and permitted women to join. The sexes were to be kept strictly separate, and there is no doubt which was to be the dominant partner.
Yet the organisation has more women in its number because, as one explained: "We've got to look after the men."
Women in Opus Dei, as in the upper echelons of the Catholic Church, remain second-class citizens.
Deportment and modesty are among the subjects on the curriculum for female members of Opus Dei, while there is no equivalent for men. Opus Dei�s new $50 million headquarters in New York has separate entrances for men and women.
As Escriv' wrote: "Wives, you should ask yourself whether you are not forgetting a little about your appearance. Your duty is, and will always be, to take as good care of your appearance as you did before you were married - and it is a duty of justice, because you belong to your husband." He also preached: "Women needn�t be scholars - it�s enough for them to be prudent."
The most damaging charge against him was that he doubted the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. This charge is dismissed as a lie by his followers.
Escriv' was canonised by Pope John Paul II in 2002.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FOLLOWER
AM: Rise exactly when alarm goes off. Get out of bed. Kiss the bedroom floor and say: "Serviam" - Latin for "I will serve."
Morning prayers followed by 30 minutes prayerful meditation.
Noon: Say the Angelus, followed by a particular "examination of conscience". For example, "am I being lazy?" or "am I humble enough?" etc
Daily Mass is mandatory for members, and many fit this in during their lunch hour. After Mass ten minutes is spent in "thanksgiving".
Evening: Five decades of the Rosary, ten minutes of spiritual reading, five minutes of gospel reading, 30 minutes of spiritual meditation.
Before bed: General examination of conscience, followed by an Act of Contrition.
Final prayer before sleep called the "Preces".
Weekly: Confession, evening prayer meeting called "the Circle".
Monthly: Evening event of reconciliation.
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