Is Opus Dei a Cult?

Saint Josemaria Escriva (1902-1975)

IS OPUS DEI A CULT?

See “6 Sociological Characteristics of Cults”:

http://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2017/10/placeholder.html

Below we apply the framework of Drs. Lalich and Langone to Opus Dei.

Some excerpts and commentary are 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.

1. The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.

“...As a condition of membership [Escriva] demanded acceptance that ‘The Work’ was divinely revealed to him, that it was therefore ‘absolutely perfect,’ and that he was infallible in matters of the ‘spirit of the Work.’” 

 

—John Roche, former Opus Dei numerary, “The Inner World of Opus Dei,” unpublished manuscript (1982)

“...Escriva always insisted that Opus Dei was not his own invention, that it was not the consequence of a series of speculations, analyses, discussions, or experiments, and that it was not the result of good and pious intentions. He clearly implied that the actual founder was God Himself and that the commission of the task to a young priest was a supernatural act, a unique grace.”
 

—Peter Berglar, Opus Dei: Life and Work of Its Founder Josemaria Escriva (1994)

Many instances may be cited of Saint Josemaria Escriva’s belief in his own infallibility as an instrument of God, using his own words:

“My children I try...to throw out...gold coins, the gold of God…if you don’t pick them up, you are doing wrong, and God our Lord will ask a very strict accounting from you.”

—Cronica (1971)

“…[Opus Dei’s] spirit transcends all geographical, historical, social, or cultural barriers. It transcends as well the evolutionary developments over the ages. As a result, as long as there are men on earth, there will be Opus Dei...[our internal law] by the will of God contains everything necessary for our sanctification and our effectiveness. That is why it is holy, unchangeable, everlasting. God has entrusted this treasure to us. Our first obligation, then, is to guard and defend it exactly as we have received it...There will never come a time, now or in the centuries to come, in which circumstances would advocate habitually abandoning some part of our internal law.”

—Cronica (1968)

Blessed Alvaro del Portillo (1914-1994), Escriva’s protégé and the “second Founder” of Opus Dei, roundly curses those who challenge or repudiate the assumption that Saint Escriva infallibly communicates the Opus Dei “spirit” revealed by God:

begin “If someone would try to divert The Work [Opus Dei] from the divine characteristics that our Founder has given us…if [someone] would try to undermine The Work of God…he would be entitled to the DIVINE CURSE [all capitals mine]” (Alvaro del Portillo, quoted in “Meditations,” VI, page 223) end 

 

—E. B. E., Opus Dei as Divine Revelation (2016), page 18

“Escriva is God.” 

 

—Lou Nicholas Calugcug, former Opus Dei numerary

‪2. Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.

Obedience, the sure way. Blind obedience to your superior. 

 

—Saint Josemaria Escriva, The Way, 941

“Your director might be wrong, but you are not wrong in obeying your director.” 

 

—Father Anthony Bernal, Opus Dei priest

“Obey intelligently but blindly.” 

 

—Opus Dei director, reported in Robert Hutchison, Their Kingdom Come (1996), page 193

begin “To remain in the boat [Opus Dei], YOU NEED TO GIVE UP YOUR MIND [all capitals mine].” (J. M. Escriva, “Vivir para la Gloria de Dios,” November 21, 1954) end 

 

—E. B. E., Opus Dei as Divine Revelation (2016), page 199

begin “Intellectual control is so complete,” said a Spanish priest and former Opus Dei member, “that members accept a life without discussion of anything.” end 

 

—Penny Lernoux, People of God: The Struggle for World Catholicism (1989), page 311

begin Felzmann believes that people who live inside Opus Dei for any period of time become so conditioned by ‘mortification of the intellect’ that they become emotionally dependent and totally bind themselves over to the organization. …Through this system highly intelligent people are induced to surrender their capacity for ethical reasoning to a superior authority…. end 

 

—Robert Hutchison, Their Kingdom Come (1996), pages 181-82

3. Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).

“The life of a numerary is onerous. He is expected to leap out of bed the moment the alarm clock goes off (the ‘heroic minute,’ according to Escriva), kiss the floor, and exclaim, ‘Serviam! Serviam!’ (‘I serve! I serve!’).  This is followed by a cold shower to mortify the body and a maximum of a half hour to dress; then prayers, Mass, and communion in the house’s oratory. …After dinner the members of the house discuss how their day of recruiting has gone. …The numerary retires to bed, first sprinkling holy water over the sheets and saying three Hail Marys while kneeling. [Constituciones, Articles 36, 186-89; Codigo de Derecho, Article 20, ‘Disposiciones Finales,’ no. 2; Escriva, The Way, pages 59, 94, 219; Thierry, Opus Dei, pages 33-36, 53-54; Ynfante, La prodigiosa aventura, pages 114-30; Tiempo, July 28, 1986]

“A schedule that rigorous would be difficult in the monastery, but the numeraries are also expected to be out in the world, making recruits. (On average, the numerary is supposed to cultivate fifteen ‘friends’ at a time for possible recruitment.) …Although women numeraries also live a highly structured life of prayer, the pressures on them for recruitment are less severe and they do not have to endure the same physical mortifications as the men, although they are expected to sleep on wooden boards, which supposedly cool their sexual appetites. [Ynfante, La prodigiosa aventura; Roche, ‘Winning Recruits’; Steigleder, L’Opus Dei, pages 95-253; Constituciones, Article 447]” 

 

—Penny Lernoux, People of God: The Struggle for World Catholicism (1989), pages 308-309

The rigorous Opus Dei ascetical regime, particularly the frenetic schedule joined to sleep deprivation, renders the numeraries susceptible to thought control by deadening critical thinking and interdicting opportunities for analytical reflection.

4. The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry, or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).

begin …women had to observe a dress code that was different from that of other women. Around 1949 and 1950 numeraries in Opus Dei had to wear their hair in a kind of “chignon,” since long, loose hair was discouraged. I had long hair and was told to tie my hair in a knot. I asked why, and was told that women in Opus Dei should not appear attractive to men.

…Another matter of concern for Opus Dei was sports: skiing and horseback riding were not considered appropriate sports for women numeraries since they required slacks and female numeraries were not allowed to wear pants. end 

 

—Maria del Carmen Tapia, Beyond the Threshold: A Life in Opus Dei (1998), pages 37-38

begin After ‘whistling’, Elizabeth [Demichel] was more fully indoctrinated into the ways of Opus Dei. She was given the internal Catechism, a booklet with 500 questions and answers which novices must learn by heart. …She was also required to study the Ceremonial Book – the Vademecum de ceremonias liturgicas. Another secret document, it too was kept in the house safe, along with the Opus Dei song book which contains the internal hymns and songs that women numeraries sing at tertulias and other gatherings.

...regional vicariates and local centres enjoy little autonomy because they must abide by a ‘Praxis’ which interprets all policy handed down by the General Council in Rome. Described as ‘an operating manual that tells Opus Dei members how absolutely everything must be done’, it is regularly updated and kept in a series of loose-leaf  binders. …Together with copies of Cronica and other sensitive documents, it must now be kept in each centre’s safe….

…Its proper title is Vademecum and it comes in seven colour-coded volumes, covering internal publications (red), local councils (navy blue), apostolate of public opinion (orange), liturgy (burgundy), priests (purple), management of local centers (green), and ceremonies (grey).

It is available in Spanish only. And it describes in encyclopaedic detail everything a member needs to know about the spirit, life, and customs of the institution—from how the Founder’s birthday is to be celebrated to a correct specimen for a will which new numeraries are required to draft in their own hand, leave blank the date, names of heirs, legatees, executors and the fees to be paid to the executors. Nothing is left to individual judgment; everything is regimented so that numerary members are fully programmed. end 

 

—Robert Hutchison, Their Kingdom Come (1996), pages 194, 201-202

begin The effect upon the organization’s members trained in a singularly devout, enclosed, and tightly controlled society can be devastating when it is suggested to them that there is some form of symbiosis between the will of God and the will of the founder whom they are taught to venerate. It puts them under enormous psychological pressure, shielded as they are from any questioning by people outside their group. “In our docility,” Cronica told members, “there will be no limits.”

…That is the IDEOLOGY OF SUBMISSION [all capitals mine] to which members commit themselves through their three vows—or the equivalent “fidelity,” as Opus prefers to call it. And the confidences, the circles, and the sacrament of penance are all means to enforce it. Given the extremely strict rules the Church of Rome imposes upon the secrecy of the confessional, sacramental confession should, of course, lie outside the structure. But as can be seen by the insistence on going only to an Opus confessor, that is not so. Has confessional secrecy ever been abused? end 

 

—Michael Walsh, Opus Dei: An Investigation into the Secret Society Struggling for Power within the Roman Catholic Church (1992), page 118

In response to the question, “Has confessional secrecy ever been abused?” see “Opus Dei Violates the Seal of Confession”:

http://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2017/11/opus-dei-violates-seal-of-confession.html

5. The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar, or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).

begin Opus Dei’s priests claim that the movement’s doctrine is perfect and “undebatable” because it came from Escriva, who had “concrete knowledge of God’s will.” But some of the doctrine is highly questionable, such as the belief that God directly appointed Escriva to be the earthly father of all Opus Dei members. Cronica, the movement’s internal confidential journal, claimed that at the Last Supper Christ prayed “to seal this strong indestructible unity of Opus Dei with a spirit of filiation to the Father [Escriva]. . . .” The Father’s “Work” was described in the words of the Song of Songs: “All is beautiful, my love, and there is no fault in thee.” In contrast to this perfect work, according to Escriva, the church was a “stinking corpse.” 

…Former high-ranking officials of Opus Dei confirmed that the “Father” was more important in their lives than the pope or even God. “Mortification for the Father, prayer for the Father, work offered for the Father’s intentions; everything from one corner to the other had to do with the ‘Father,’” said Maria del Carmen Tapia. end 

 

—Penny Lernoux, People of God: The Struggle for World Catholicism (1989), page 306

 

See “Angelism,” which repudiates the obligation of blind, absolute obedience that Saint Josemaria Escriva imposed upon the members of Opus Dei:

http://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2017/11/angelism.html

Elitism is quintessentially Opus Dei, arising from the organization’s missionary social vision, authoritarian and hierarchical vis-à-vis democratic and egalitarian.

“The general orientation of the end of the Institute is the sanctification of the members through the exercise of the Gospel counsels and by the observance of these Constitutions.

“Specifically, it is to work with all its strength so that the so-called intellectual class—which is a guide for civil society so much as by the learning it possesses, the posts it holds or prestige by which it is distinguished—embraces the precepts of Christ the Lord and puts them into practice; and also to nurture and spread the life of perfection in the world among all the classes of civil society and to teach all men and women to do apostolate in the world.”

 

—1950 Constitutions of Opus Dei, Part I, Chapter 1, 3, S1-S2

One manifestation of elitism is secrecy because it implies that Opus Dei members belong to an exclusive—and exclusivist—society.

“In order for the Institute to reach its proper end more effectively, it wishes to live an occult existence…. [It] does not desire to appear publicly as a society….”

 

—1950 Constitutions of Opus Dei, 189

“Membership in the Institute admits no external manifestations.  The number of members is kept hidden from outsiders….”

 

—1950 Constitutions of Opus Dei, 190

We would remark that the number of members is kept hidden even from the members themselves.

Escriva’s penchant for elitism shows up throughout his writings.

“When a layman sets himself up as an arbiter of morals, he frequently errs; laymen can be only disciples.”

 

—Saint Josemaria Escriva, The Way, 61

Escriva assigns an unduly limited role to the Christian laity, ignoring or denigrating the essential part the laity plays in developing and applying Christian morality, especially in its social aspects.

As an example of the vital role of the laity in giving witness to Christian morality, we could cite the social activism of Dorothy Day, who is presently under consideration for beatification in the Roman Catholic Church.

We could also point to exemplary Christians who are not Roman Catholics, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated for successfully leading the U.S. civil rights movement, or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who actively opposed the Nazi regime and was hanged by Hitler for his membership in the underground. As Bonhoeffer believed, so he lived. He put into practice his developed theological understanding of the Christian duty to advance justice in the world.

“Marriage is for the rank and file, not for the officers of Christ’s army. For, unlike food, which is necessary for every individual, procreation is necessary only for the species, and individuals can dispense with it.”

 

—Saint Josemaria Escriva, The Way, 85

We would observe that many married Christians assume vital leadership roles and responsibilities in “Christ’s army.”

Notably, with respect to the above point Escriva invokes a military metaphor.

6. The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.

begin John Roche said, “The Opus Dei hierarchy in Rome was starting to prepare us for schism. They said, ‘Saints have been in schism before.’ They were preparing us for the possibility of leaving the Catholic Church and becoming a separate church. This was an indication of the paranoia that spread through Opus Dei in the early 1970s. I remember asking one of our Irish priests who he would choose if it came to schism, the Pope or the Father? ‘The Father, of course,’ he replied.” [Dr. John Roche, 8 October 1994] end
 

—Robert Hutchison, Their Kingdom Come (1996), page 145

“Minutes of silence”—leave this for atheists, Masons, and Protestants, who have a dry heart. We Catholics, children of God, speak with our Father who is in heaven. 

 

—Saint Josemaria Escriva, The Way, 115

So-called “means of formation” in Opus Dei regularly invokes a host of threats with which Opus Dei as the “faithful remnant” of the Roman Catholic Church is implicitly engaged in some kind of cosmic struggle. Opus Dei’s adversaries include, for example, Communists, Freemasons, Protestants, Jesuits, Modernists, liberation theology, progressive theologians—Gustavo Gutierrez, Karl Rahner, Edward Schillebeeckx, Hans Küng, and the like—and religious not dressed in habits, including “nuns in hot pants.” Allegedly, the Roman Catholic faithful outside Opus Dei is “in error,” except, just maybe, “the most contemplative orders,” and it is only Opus Dei that harbors “good doctrine.” 

In Opus Dei the need to create “enemies” and to “fight” them is an institutional neurosis. It is impossible to determine whether the organization’s claims are real or imaginary because they are not empirical or scientifically supported. The entire lurid construction indicates mass hysteria. 

7. The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations). 

While it is true that Opus Dei is de jure directly accountable to the pope through the Opus Dei prelate, de facto Opus Dei operates with lack of oversight and weak accountability. One principal reason for Opus Dei license is pervasive dissimulation, which allows the organization to operate under a wall of secrecy that is extremely difficult to penetrate: 

begin “Opus Dei was rather defensive about being secretive,” said one. “They’d say, ‘No, we tell it like it is.’ And, yes, they’d answer your questions, but it was like peeling away an onion. But if you didn’t ask the right question to peel away the next layer you simply weren’t told. You just never had the full picture. And I suppose it wouldn’t have been so annoying if they hadn’t been saying all the time how open they were.” end 

 

—James Martin, S.J., “Opus Dei in the United States,” America (February 25, 1995)

See “Dissimulation in Opus Dei”:

http://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2017/06/dissimulation-in-opus-dei.html

Also “Holy Discretion”:

http://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2017/10/holy-discretion.html

begin Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, O.P.: “Nobody needs to have studied theology to recognize the basic contradiction in the slogan ‘sects within the Church.’ Their presumed existence in the Church is an indirect reproach of the Pope and Bishops who are responsible for investigating whether ecclesiastical groups are in agreement with the faith of the Church in teaching and practice. From a theological and ecclesiastical point of view, a group is considered a sect when it is not recognized by the relevant Church authority…. It is therefore wrong if communities which are approved by the Church are called sects (by institutions, individuals, or in media reports)…. Communities and movements approved by the Church should not be called sects, since their ecclesiastical approbation confirms their belonging to and grounding in the Church.” L’Osservatore Romano, 13/20 August 1997. end

http://opusdei.us/en-us/article/opus-dei-and-cult-allegations/

—“Opus Dei and cult allegations,” Opus Dei, January 20, 2005 

 

The accurate response to the defense that Opus Dei is not a cult (or sect) because it is accountable to the Roman Catholic hierarchy is that the hierarchy has been remiss, indeed, negligent in regulating the abuses of the organization, in part because of Opus Dei’s highly developed systemic secrecy.

begin Opus Dei’s internal documents and the testimony of former members show that it has followed a deliberate policy of keeping secret its membership, hierarchy, rituals, and rules. Many former members say that if they had known what they were getting into they would not have joined. (Most religious orders are open about how they operate and what is expected of their membership.) end 

 

—Penny Lernoux, People of God: The Struggle for World Catholicism (1989), page 304

“Without doubt, Opus Dei has had a great global development. However, this was made possible by paying a high cost in human suffering. While Opus Dei could be a success as an organization, it seems to be a moral and religious failure. There are no official statistics but any former member knows that many members leave Opus Dei….”

—E. B. E., Opus Dei as Divine Revelation (2016), page 169

“One of the features of Opus Dei is the enormous [number] of people who abandon it over the years. It should be a wake-up call for the hierarchy of the Catholic church.”

“I do not refer simply to a few cases but to a large number of people.”

“It was mainly thanks to Opuslibros.org that it was possible to break the silence and realize that each one leaving was not an isolated case but one more case.”

—E. B. E., Opus Dei as Divine Revelation (2016), pages 185-86

Sharon Clasen, former Opus Dei numerary, reported coming across thousands of letters written by former Opus Dei members in the Opus Dei Awareness Network files.

8. The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members’ participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).

begin Father Vladimir Felzmann, the movement’s first Czech member, said that Opus Dei warned young people not to tell their parents they intended to join, and membership therefore began with a LIE [all capitals mine]. end

—Penny Lernoux, People of God: The Struggle for World Catholicism (1989), page 313

 

See “Moral Lobotomy in Opus Dei”:

http://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2017/06/moral-lobotomy-in-opus-dei.html

9. The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.

begin “These people have told me,” Monsignor Escriva said, pointing his finger at the central directress and the other two advisors present, “that you have received the news that you are not going back to Venezuela with hysteria and tears.” Beside himself, he shouted at me, “Very bad spirit! You are not going back to Venezuela, because your work has been individualistic and bad! And you have murmured against my documents! Against my documents, you have murmured!”

His anger affected his breathing, and he held his clenched fist close to my face. “This is serious! Serious! Serious! I admonish you canonically. Let it be so recorded,” he said directing his words to Javier Echevarria, who, I insist, had no position whatsoever in the women’s central government. “Next time,” continued Monsignor Escriva, “you are out! Always complications since 1948! …Now you come to me with this. And don’t cry, because your trouble is that you are proud, proud, proud...”

…I stood frozen. I did not budge. The central directress said angrily: “What unpleasantness you are causing the Father!”

…All of the advisors departed and left me alone with my anguish.

…I could not believe what I heard and saw. That good, affectionate Father, whom I had dearly loved, for whom I had done everything in my life since coming to Opus Dei, had just formulated an admonition with the threat of expelling me from Opus Dei. I could not accept that Monsignor Escriva could be so harsh and not allow me the opportunity to speak to him alone, listening and questioning me before judging me in public. Above all, I was hurt by the Father’s manners, his lack of understanding, or more precisely, his lack of charity.

I kept repeating the phrase: “Next time, you’re out,” but still could not believe it. The “murmuring” about the documents to which Monsignor Escriva referred must have meant my overt comments to the counselor and regional priest secretary of Venezuela, suggesting that the members of Opus Dei be allowed to go to confession to whomever they wanted as long as the confessor was an Opus Dei priest or, should special circumstances arise, with anyone authorized to hear confessions. Although such freedom is written into Opus Dei documents, it is “bad spirit” if anyone actually uses it. end 

 

—Maria del Carmen Tapia, Beyond the Threshold: A Life in Opus Dei (1998), pages 248-4

“begin block quote When circumstances require, because of the goods at stake, the Chat can be a path to deliver imperative counsels. end block quote [cf. ‘Experiencias en el modo de llevar charlas fraternas,’ 2001, page 63]

“Once again, the language is confused and opaque. Opus Dei prefers not to use the word ‘orders’ but a milder one, ‘counsels.’ In this way it can state that the directors have no power of government and for that reason they only counsel and give advice. However, Opus Dei does want to give more strength to ‘counsels’ since it is too soft. Directors add the adjective ‘imperative,’ resulting in the oxymoron ‘imperative counsels.’ …they have the force of an order. This is one distinctive feature of Opus Dei—to be one thing but to pretend to be another.”

—E. B. E., Opus Dei as Divine Revelation (2016), page 303

Note that the Opus Dei practice of secretly involving the directors in tactics to deceive and manipulate those who receive spiritual direction in Opus Dei violates their rights to privacy and to informed consent.

“A top Milan corporate lawyer who was attracted to Opus Dei by its work ethic…found out, in his words, ‘that complicity exists between the director and the chaplain. They combine to interfere in your personal affairs and pressure you to make decisions that affect your private and professional life…Every effort is made to make you spiritually dependent upon the organization. You must open your soul, be trusting and slowly they work upon you to empty yourself and acknowledge that in spiritual matters you are like a child, unknowledgeable and in need of help. Once you begin to accept the notion that you are a child in spiritual matters, then the next step is to get you to obey.’”

—Robert Hutchison, Their Kingdom Come (1996), page 193

‪10. Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.

begin On New Year’s Eve 1949, I made a clean break with my fiancé, believing that by entering Opus Dei I was doing God’s will. Many people rebuked me for my behavior toward my planned marriage. I was told by my relatives and friends that I was “a woman without feelings, without heart!” God knows well the painful crisis I went through until I finally surrendered to “God’s will,” as I understood it. end 

 

—Maria del Carmen Tapia, Beyond the Threshold: A Life in Opus Dei (1998), page 26

begin “Our daughter,” [Mrs. DiNicola] recalls, “became totally estranged from us. I can’t tell you the turmoil that our family went through. We tried to keep in touch with her, but it was like she was a completely different person.” end 

 

—James Martin, S.J., “Opus Dei in the United States,” America (February 25, 1995)

‪11. The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.

begin Escrivá’s writings emphasize at least the idea of recruiting. In the internal magazine, Cronica, he wrote in 1971: “This holy coercion is necessary, compelle intrare the Lord tells us.” And, “You must kill yourselves for proselytism.”

Ann Schweninger finds this closer to her experience: “Whenever you’re in Opus Dei, you’re recruiting.” end 

 

—James Martin, S.J., “Opus Dei in the United States,” America (February 25, 1995)

12. The group is preoccupied with making money.

“I remember very well how a senior Regional Director told us many times that ‘what Opus Dei most needs is dollars and vocations.’”

—E. B. E., Opus Dei as Divine Revelation (2016), page 329

“Supernumeraries are for money.” 

 

—Father Roque Reyes, Opus Dei priest, on the role of Opus Dei supernumeraries in the organization

“In Opus Dei…there is another call that we could denominate seduction. …the seduction of power, used as an excuse for spreading the Gospel—in other words, to evangelize the world from power structures. Hence the attractiveness of Opus Dei’s message: ‘the sanctification of wealth and power is possible.’ …[It] goes against the evangelical principle that ‘no one can serve two masters’ (Matthew 6:21-24).”

—E. B. E., Opus Dei as Divine Revelation (2016), page 314

13. Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.

begin The assistants are the female domestic crews that serve meals, do laundry and clean at Opus Dei facilities. “It’s like working at a hotel,” says Lucy, except that the job requires daily prayer, daily penance and lifelong celibacy. The work meant 12-hour days, six or seven days a week at Opus Dei centers from San Francisco to Boston, and Lucy says her minimum-wage salary was turned over to the organization. She found the stringent regulation of her life incredibly grueling. “You had to ask permission to do everything,” she recalls. “If you wanted to go out with a friend, watch TV or listen to the radio. I got so fed up.”

Her time with her tight-knit family was heavily restricted. When visiting relatives, she had to stay at the local Opus Dei center instead of at home. In 2000 Lucy was told she could not attend her sister’s wedding because the ceremony would not be Catholic. “My sister didn’t talk to me for two years,” Lucy says. It took five more years, however, before she decided to leave Opus Dei last April. 

...Now 39, Lucy lives with an old friend in Arkansas and has happily renewed relations with her family. She revels in simple things—like watching Star Wars—without having to ask permission. But her new life has been difficult. She has no savings and no real résumé. She works as a receptionist, earning $6.75 an hour. Disillusioned by her Opus Dei experience, she no longer attends Mass at all. end

—Time (April 24, 2006)

The obedience required of Opus Dei numeraries, not only the assistant numeraries, encompasses every single moment of life, including sleep, and sometimes makes impossible demands on the time available. “We should do the work of thirty and make the noise of three,” said Escriva.

14. Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.

begin At Los Rosales we were totally isolated from the external world. This is one of the characteristics of a sect. [“Insulation consists of behavioural rules calculated to protect sect values by reducing the influence of the external world where contact necessarily occurs. Of course, insulation may be a latent function of the moral demands of sect teaching.” Wilson, Patterns of Sectarianism, p. 37]

…The structure of life at Los Rosales was designed…to convert us into true Opus Dei fanatics:

- Total detachment from our families and friends

- Importance of life in a group

- No free time

- Excessive workload

- Daily meditation and mortification

- Opus Dei and the Father are central topics and only goals

- Our only family is Opus Dei

- All female members of Opus Dei are our sisters

- We must love the Father more than our own parents

- No outside influences, such as music or movies

- No radio, newspaper, or magazine end 

 

—Maria del Carmen Tapia, Beyond the Threshold: A Life in Opus Dei (1998), pages 58-59

“begin block quote In Opus Dei centers….there is never any talk of regulations—because there are none—nor are there acts in common but rather family reunions. Family life in Opus Dei is not regulated—and cannot be—by canon law’s rules on religious life. In fact it is not comparable, even minimally, to [the community life] of the religious communities end block quote [‘Catechism’ (2010), no. 187]

“Canon law cannot regulate ‘family life’ in Opus Dei centers. That is true. However,…why did Escriva himself regulate life in the centers AS IF Opus Dei were a RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY? [all capitals mine]

“…The Catechism says that Opus Dei’s family life is not comparable, even minimally, to [the community life] of religious communities. That is not true. In Opus Dei the word ‘regulations’ is never spoken but one lives as if they really exist. They exist but nobody calls them by their name. That is forbidden. The ‘family reunions’ are ‘acts in common’ to such an extent that permission is required to absent oneself from them. The daily ‘tertulia’ or get-together is not spontaneous…. The level of control exercised by the directors is more likely to occur in a religious congregation than in a family. The guidelines to be followed during ‘tertulias’ are:

“begin block quote [Directors of a center] make sure that in those moments [‘tertulias’] the supernatural and human tone proper to the Work will be maintained. …One of the most frequent subjects will be apostolate and proselytism. …Sometimes, especially on the occasion of family celebrations, the ‘tertulia’ will move towards intimate subjects of the life of the Work, its history, etc. …Occasionally, the ‘tertulias’ will be about social events or political and economic questions, etc. In these cases, the Directors—and everyone—will avoid that…doctrinally erroneous approaches are expounded. end block quote [Cf. ‘Experiencias de labores apostolicas’ (2003), pages 13-14]

“Before 1982 Opus Dei members were living a life in several aspects proper to religious orders. This happened to them without their knowing and without their giving explicit consent.

“…Even if the statutes of the prelature do not mention it, this obligation has not changed after 1982. Numeraries live family life in the prelature, from which they cannot be dispensed except if the prelate allows it.

“…That kind of life proper to religious is forced on numeraries…without their knowing and therefore without their permission.”

—E. B. E., Opus Dei as Divine Revelation (2016), pages 133-37

15. The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.

begin “Dear child, convince yourself now and forever, convince yourself that leaving the boat [Opus Dei] means DEATH [all capitals mine].” (J. M. Escriva, “Vivir para la Gloria de Dios,” November 21, 1954) end

 

—E. B. E., Opus Dei as Divine Revelation (2016), page 199

begin “The whole house was so upset, with everyone crying. The directors were hysterical, too. They told us that we had to pray hard for Tammy [former Opus Dei numerary] since this was her soul at stake and that we would really have to mortify ourselves.” end

 

—James Martin, S.J., “Opus Dei in the United States,” America (February 25, 1995)

Question: Is God the origin of the harmful, destructive attributes of Opus Dei that define the organization as a cult?

Answer: No. It is a work of man, not God.

See “How Cults Cause Psychological Harm”:

http://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2017/10/how-cults-cause-psychological-harm.html