Opus Dei is a self-governing Catholic organization founded by Father Josemaría Escrivá in 1928. It has about 90,000 members, mostly lay people, who strive for holiness in daily life. Opus Dei is significantly different from modern Catholicism, with beliefs that represent a return to pre-Vatican II Catholicism. The organization practices self-mortification and carries out charitable missions. Some criticize Opus Dei’s conservatism and allegations of elitism and secrecy.
Opus Dei is a personal prelature, a self-governing body defined by membership rather than geography, of the Roman Catholic Church. Father Josemaría Escrivá founded the organization in 1928 and believed that the prelature was divinely inspired, an argument also supported by Pope John Paul II. Father Escrivá was canonized, or made a saint, in 2002. Archbishop Javier Echevarría was named prelate, or leader, in 1994.
This organization has about 90,000 members, of which about 98% are lay people. Most of the members are married, but some have dedicated themselves to chastity and are educated in Opus Dei centres. Unlike traditional nuns and priests, these unmarried members are not part of the clergy, although many dedicate their lives to chastity. The laity are part of the governing body and are not under the authority of local bishops. Instead, this organization answers directly to the pope and is authorized to self-govern, as long as such governance does not conflict with the religious teachings of the Holy See.
Opus Dei is significantly different from what most people think constitutes Catholicism. Beliefs are fundamental, they represent a return to pre-Vatican II Catholicism. Vatican II changed much of the ideas previously held by the church in an attempt to modernize the church. It gave more power to the laity and proposed that Mass be celebrated in native languages instead of Latin.
It tends to govern according to older ecclesiastical law, conducting the Mass in Latin and using the pre-Vatican II rules for behavior during Lent. The leaders advocate “holiness in daily life”, inspired by Escrivá’s idea that baptism sanctifies the Catholic as a child of God. We must always act in a spiritual way and tending towards holiness, not just at Mass or on Sundays.
A part of each day is spent in meditative prayer and every aspect of ordinary life, such as parenting or work, is an opportunity for the Catholic to strive for the imitation of Christ. Ordinary actions are sanctified when a person acts with love, dignity, sacrifice, ethics and competence. Being Christ-like in all actions, Opus Dei believes that its members make no distinction between the secular life and the Christian life. Life is unified, yet Christians seem forced to live a double life. Every secular task is sanctified by the way it is performed.
A recent example of this was the suggestion by some bishops that John Kerry should be denied communion because he was pro-choice in his political life. Kerry argued that she did not support abortion, but rather supported choice and respected the rights of others to make choices. The church has taken no action against Kerry, but Opus Dei members find this position unbearable. One cannot live under separate belief structures. According to their beliefs, even nominally supporting pro-choice ideology, Kerry was not acting as a Catholic should in his secular life.
Much has been said about the organization’s doctrine of self-mortification. By experiencing physical pain, a member is reminded of Christ’s suffering, and thus his life can only be unified. Mortification is practiced by only a small percentage of members, who wear the cilice, a band around the leg that hurts. The hair shirt is worn for two hours a day. It does not cause bleeding and often leaves no marks.
In addition, Opus Dei carries out charitable missions in poor communities and countries. However, unlike most modern Catholic thinking, those who participate in this organization believe that the purpose of a charity is to alleviate suffering and bring others to Christ. This is different from modern Catholic thinking that the missionary purpose is simply to alleviate suffering, and also to respect the religious beliefs or lack thereof of those being helped.
Many Catholics believe that the creation of Opus Dei as a personal prelature represents the Pope’s relative conservatism, and Pope Benedict’s continued support is causing the Church’s beliefs to spiral back. Some consider him fascist, elitist and secretive, although he refutes allegations of elitism and secrecy. However, many organizations have sprung up to help those recovering from organizing participation, and these organizations tend to have a deprogramming effect, similar to many cult recovery organizations. There are allegations that Opus Dei practices mortification far more than they claim and separates initiates from their family members who are not participants.
For many Catholics, Opus Dei is an unfortunate organization, with some good guiding principles, but leaning too conservatively. American Catholics often find that most of Opus Dei’s teachings represent far-right thinking, something they would like to see removed from the Church.
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