Moral Lobotomy in Opus Dei

Phineas Gage (1823-1860)

MORAL LOBOTOMY IN OPUS DEI

or The Imposed Conscience in Opus Dei

Some excerpts and commentary from Opus Dei as Divine Revelation (2016) by E. B. E.—it is an English translation from the Spanish, not fully corrected, so I have made appropriate corrections of my own.

The Opus Dei member must obey blindly:

begin Obedience, the sure way. Blind obedience to your superior. (Saint Josemaria Escriva, The Way, 941)

...There are two ways of yielding one’s own judgment: by conversation and dialogue or by blind obedience, which amputates thinking. Inside Opus Dei I experienced the second way, but I could enjoy the first when I left Opus Dei. end

—page 177

In Opus Dei Saint Josemaria Escriva is regarded as the infallible voice of God’s will:

begin Escriva has been considered by many Opus Dei members as a historical figure at the same level as Moses. ...God’s will emanated from Escriva’s mouth, according to a senior director’s testimony:

“Do what I [Escriva] tell you: as soon as you receive from Rome a note or indication of mine, you will take that paper and...you will kneel down and with your hand lay it on your head, saying: ‘This comes from our founder, then it comes from God and must be put into practice with all our soul.’” (J. Prieto, “Una Crisis en el Opus Dei,” El Pais, April 12, 1992)

...Far from being a joke, Opus Dei members have considered Escriva one of the most important persons in the whole history of the Roman Catholic Church. end

—page 183

The will of the Opus Dei directors is for Opus Dei members the will of God. This authority to act as the infallible voice of God’s will is assigned and delegated to the directors by Escriva. It is for this reason, that is, the claim of Escriva that his teachings and directives are the infallible manifestation of God’s will, that the obedience required of Opus Dei members is absolute and blind:

begin God’s will is the habitual argument used to put members under pressure to obey the directors’ orders.

...Opus Dei joins the directors’ orders to God’s plan. What superior directors decide always comes from God’s will.

...If Opus Dei is God’s will, who will dare to oppose, resist, or question it?

...The other essential concept is that of infallibility: errors can come only from...those who have the [obligation] of obeying. Directors, in contrast,...cannot be wrong because they have God’s support. Hence the absence of self-criticism.

...The infallibility of Opus Dei directors [is] manifest not only when they are [always] right (reason) but also in what they want (will).

...“For us, God’s will is always crystal clear. We can know it, even its smallest details, because the spirit of the Work and the help of our directors let us know what the Lord asks of us at any given time.” (J. M. Escriva, “Meditations,” III, p. 338)

Those words...faithfully portray how the Father’s will [will of the Opus Dei prelate] is closely tied to God’s will and is made known to members through Opus Dei directors.

...Directors of Opus Dei act in the name of the Father. They are the spiritual physicians and the members are the permanent patients. end

—pages 245-57

In Opus Dei, members must repudiate their conscience. They must renounce the right of conscience:

begin “Dear child, convince yourself now and forever, convince yourself that leaving the boat [Opus Dei] means DEATH [all capitals mine]. And, to remain in the boat, YOU NEED TO GIVE UP YOUR MIND [all capitals mine].” (J. M. Escriva, “Vivir para la Gloria de Dios,” November 21, 1954)

...What does it mean to give up one’s mind? The Spanish word used by Escriva in that text is “juicio.” In English, it can be translated in many ways: judgment, reason, trial, mind, opinion, etc. It can also be translated as “the part of the mind that tells you whether what you are doing is morally right or wrong” (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 5th ed.)—that is the definition of conscience. In this context, to give up your mind is TO GIVE UP YOUR CONSCIENCE [all capitals mine]. end

—page 199

Theology of the Boat:

begin The boat of Peter and the boat of Escriva seem to have the same purpose: people’s salvation. However, there are significant differences between the two.

...The Catholic church states: “No one therefore is to be forced to embrace the Christian faith against his own will.” (Dignitatis Humanae, 10)

Whereas Peter respects and defends freedom of conscience, Escriva explicitly requires Opus Dei members—in order to remain in the boat and be saved—to give up their conscience.

“Do not forget that you must always remain within the boat. And this is because you wanted it. I repeat what I said yesterday and before: if you leave the boat, you will fall into the sea waves, you will die, you will be lost, drown in the ocean, and you will no longer be with Christ, losing his friendship.” (J. M. Escriva, “Vivir para la Gloria de Dios,” November 21, 1954)

...The options are only two: death (outside the boat) or submission (within the boat), according to Escriva’s theology of the boat. end

—pages 206-209

The member of Opus Dei has no rights:

begin Opus Dei members lose their rights when they enter Opus Dei: it is part of giving up their own minds. Even if they can, they should not claim their rights once they have “given them up to God.” ...once you are a member, you have no rights anymore.

“Because of the vocation, rights have become duties of a greater generosity, of full dedication, of complete giving up of ourselves.” (J. M. Escriva, “Meditations,” IV, p. 582) end

—page 229

We should note first of all that the Roman Catholic Church has affirmed human rights, e.g. in 1948 the Vatican signed the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Indeed, the very idea of human rights goes all the way back to the Old Testament.

When Opus Dei repudiates human rights, this negation exposes its victims to abuse—in particular, to religious, spiritual, and emotional abuse. Because in Opus Dei the judgments and imperatives of religious and spiritual authority are favored over the human rights of those subject to this authority, what inevitably ensues is the abuse of religious and spiritual authority.

In Opus Dei, not only is the right of conscience not given its due. Also abused is the right to informed consent (related to the right to information), the right to privacy, the right to religious freedom, and the right to just compensation, among others. It should not be surprising that former assistant numeraries have complained that in Opus Dei they were treated like slaves.

Moral Lobotomy:

begin In Opus Dei, obedience seems like a kind of “moral lobotomy.”

...the first command is “you shall obey the Father” and his directors. Then comes everything else. The function of conscience is relegated to the duty to examine oneself (especially about how obedience has been carried out). The absence of the [Roman Catholic] doctrine on conscience in the formation given by Opus Dei is noteworthy. For instance, in the six volumes of “Meditations,” the Spanish word “conciencia” (conscience) appears one hundred and eighty-four (184) times, [but] in no case is the text related to the Catholic doctrine on conscience. However, the Spanish word “obediencia” (obedience) and “obedecer” (to obey) appear five hundred and twelve (512) times [in reference to] docility, submission, and obedience. ...The only exception—when “Meditations” properly speak about conscience—is to teach the peculiar doctrine of Escriva about “freedom of conscience” as opposed to “freedom of consciences” (plural). ...Catholic doctrine about conscience does not support the position of Escriva, who condemns the use of the singular in favor of the plural. ...Gaudium et Spes...and Redemptor Hominis both use the singular “conscience.” end

—pages 281-82

Delusion in Opus Dei:

begin The reality must be adjusted to theory...we could call this “imperative denial.”

“When—contrary to what those who have a special grace to counsel you, tell you—you think you are right, you must know that you are completely wrong.” (J. M. Escriva, “De Nuestro Padre,” 1982, 72)

...In denying evidence, one could be acting contrary to one’s conscience...Opus Dei requests its members to give up their minds...and to privilege blind obedience over conscience. end

—pages 228-29

The Opus Dei member is always wrong if he or she diverges from Opus Dei authority:

begin “Ninety-nine percent of the problems we have are the product of our imagination: they are snowballs that we create, unreasonable reasoning, a deception we create to hide our concupiscence.” (J. M. Escriva, “Noticias,” August 1966, p. 8)

...If a member feels that he or she is not being comprehended by the organization, there is no chance that Opus Dei could have something to do with that situation. The only two possible causes are blamed on the member who feels that way: the lack of intelligence or the lack of humility. end

—pages 232-35

YOU’RE ALWAYS WRONG

“You’re just wrong!”—Alan Dershowitz, CNN, February 5, 2011

Sung to a jaunty tune

Cappricioso con nome

Sing a song

When you’re never right,

Always wrong—

Say it short,

Say it long,

Be persuasive,

Don’t be abrasive!

Be appealing,

Voice deep feeling!

Reason all you might,

Talk about your plight,

Tinkle along,

Bong like a gong!

Refrain. You’re just wrong, wrong, W-R-O-N-G!

Play along,

Try to belong!

Refrain.

Try to deny it,

Just keep quiet!

Refrain.

Dance or mime,

Recite and rhyme!

Refrain.

Fill your cup,

Don’t hang up!

Refrain. 

***

See The Imposed Conscience:

https://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-imposed-conscience.html