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Opus Dei Catholic Church Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer God Prelature Clergy Leopoldo Eijo and Garay Holy See secular institute personal prelature John Paul II dad Congregation for Bishops Pontifical Yearbook Perceptions and controversies about Opus Dei proselytizing Sect Extreme right Mass Eucharist Angelus Rosary (Christianity) Spanish Civil War Francisco Franco Legal itinerary of Opus Dei WWII Priestly Society of the Holy Cross Alvaro del Portillo Rome Priest of Opus Dei Navarre Pamplona university of Navarra Saint Sebastian Barcelona Madrid Sanctuary of Torreciudad Huesca Javier Echevarria Rodriguez Bishop Newsweek Devil's lawyer Michael Fisac Congregation for the Causes of Saints Pediatrics Catalonia Eduardo Ortiz de Landazuri Jose Maria Hernandez Garnica Thomas Alvira Augustine of Hippo Francis de Sales John Paul I Holy Spirit Presbyter Deacon Order Congregation University Carlos III of Madrid Hans Kung Leonardo Boff Straight Juan Jose Tamayo Contraceptive method Divorce Members of Opus Dei Supernumerary (Opus Dei) Mercy Penance Marquisate of Peralta Ricardo de la Cierva Saint Teresa of Jesus Saint John of the Cross Joseph Calasanz Maria Faustina Kowalska Schönstatt Apostolic Movement Theology Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Big Bang Theory Second Vatican Council Secularism Progressivism Dan Brown The Da Vinci Code Wlodimir Ledochowski peter berglar freemasonry Vittorio Messori John Allen National Assembly of France Jesus company Evangelism Conservative Francoism Antonio Fontan Phalanx Carlism Paul Preston Rafael Calvo Serer People's Party Federico Trillo Elizabeth Bacon Jose Maria Aznar rafael larreina Eusko Alkartasuna Spanish Socialist Worker's Party Lech Walesa Aquinas Heart Philippines General Motors Ruth Kelly Raymond Barre Iron Curtain
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Opus Dei
Opus Dei personal prelature
Don Heinz Duthel
Copyright © 2011 - 2022 Heinz Duthel
Second edition
All rights reserved.
DEDICATION
Church of our Chapel, Inc.,
CONTENTS
Opus Dei
Catholic Church
Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer
God
Prelature
Clergy
Leopoldo Eijo and Garay
Holy See
secular institute
personal prelature
John Paul II
dad
Congregation for Bishops
Pontifical Yearbook
Perceptions and controversies about Opus Dei
proselytizing
Sect
Extreme right
Mass
Eucharist
Angelus
Rosary (Christianity)
Spanish Civil War
Francisco Franco
Legal itinerary of Opus Dei
WWII
Priestly Society of the Holy Cross
Alvaro del Portillo
Rome
Priest of Opus Dei
Navarre
Pamplona
university of Navarra
Saint Sebastian
Barcelona
Madrid
Sanctuary of Torreciudad
Huesca
Javier Echevarria Rodriguez
Bishop
Newsweek
Devil's lawyer
Michael Fisac
Congregation for the Causes of Saints
Pediatrics
Catalonia
Eduardo Ortiz de Landazuri
Jose Maria Hernandez Garnica
Thomas Alvira
Augustine of Hippo
Francis de Sales
John Paul I
Holy Spirit
Presbyter
Deacon
Order
Congregation
University Carlos III of Madrid
Hans Kung
Leonardo Boff
Straight
Juan Jose Tamayo
Contraceptive method
Divorce
Members of Opus Dei
Supernumerary (Opus Dei)
Mercy
Penance
Marquisate of Peralta
Ricardo de la Cierva
Saint Teresa of Jesus
Saint John of the Cross
Joseph Calasanz
Maria Faustina Kowalska
Schönstatt Apostolic Movement
Theology
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Big Bang Theory
Second Vatican Council
Secularism
Progressivism
Dan Brown
The Da Vinci Code
Wlodimir Ledochowski
peter berglar
freemasonry
Vittorio Messori
John Allen
National Assembly of France
Jesus company
Evangelism
Conservative
Francoism
Antonio Fontan
Phalanx
Carlism
Paul Preston
Rafael Calvo Serer
People's Party
Federico Trillo
Elizabeth Bacon
Jose Maria Aznar
rafael larreina
Eusko Alkartasuna
Spanish Socialist Worker's Party
Lech Walesa
Aquinas Heart
Philippines
General Motors
Ruth Kelly
Raymond Barre
Iron Curtain
Opus Dei
Opus Dei
Opus Dei personal prelature
Membership Catholic Church
Worldwide scope (personal prelature)
prelatic church
Saint Mary of Peace (Rome)
Number of faithful 87,564 (2009)
Number of priests 1,996 (2009)
Prelate Bishop Javier Echevarría Rodríguez
Date of creation of the Prelature November 28, 1982
Founder Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer
Foundation date October 2, 1928
The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei is an institution belonging to the Catholic Church. It was founded on October 2, 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, a Spanish priest canonized in 2002. The Latin term “Opus Dei” means “work of God”.
The prelature is governed by a prelate and is made up of the priests who form the prelature's own clergy and, for the most part, by lay faithful.
Opus Dei, founded in 1928, was approved for the first time in 1941 by the bishop of Madrid (Spain), Leopoldo Eijo y Garay. Years later, in 1950, the Holy See approved it as a Secular Institute, governed by its own statutes. After requesting it, it was erected as a personal prelature (that is, not territorial) in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, being the only one existing today. The prelature depends on the Congregation for Bishops.
The institutional mission of Opus Dei is to spread the Catholic teaching that all people are called to become saints, and that ordinary life is a path to sainthood.
According to the 2011 Pontifical Yearbook, Opus Dei has 2,015 priests in the world and a total of 88,245 members, so it follows that 86,230 are lay people. 55% of Opus Dei members are women and about 90% live in Europe and Latin America.
The heritage of the prelature is estimated at a minimum of 2,800 million dollars, according to a study by John Allen.
Opus Dei has received recognition and support from the Popes, various Catholic authorities and other personalities.
In contrast, especially in Europe and Latin America, Opus Dei has also been strongly criticized, being accused mainly of aggressive proselytism, sectarianism, and dissemination of attitudes and links with far-right groups.
History
On October 2, 1928, Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer founded "Opus Dei" as "a path to sanctification aimed at all kinds of people in professional work and in the fulfillment of ordinary Christian duties." This message collided with the general idea at that time that to be a saint one had to lead a life consecrated only to God, that is, only religious could be saints.
In 1930, he founded the women's section of Opus Dei, which until then was only for men.
In 1933, the first center of Opus Dei was opened, the "DyA Academy" where Law and Architecture classes were taught. A year later the "DyA Academy" becomes a university residence.
Around 1935/36, in the "DyA Academy", the members of Opus Dei began to practice some customs that the founder conceived as means to achieve the ends of the institution and that would become distinctive signs of the future Work, among which There are fraternal correction, visits to the poor and sick, catechesis or the so-called "plan of life", which includes acts of piety such as daily mass, communion, praying the Angelus, visiting the tabernacle, reading the Gospel, rosary and mortifications.
During the Spanish civil war, in which religious persecution broke out, Josemaría Escrivá was forced to take refuge in various places. In 1937, Escrivá and other members of Opus Dei left the "republican" area, crossing the Pyrenees through Andorra and arriving in France, from where they returned to Spain, to the area dominated by the rebels, where the Church was not persecuted. The conflict suspends the projects of the founder of Opus Dei to extend the apostolic work to other countries.
After the civil war, Franco's dictatorship began in Spain which, after the religious persecution suffered by the Catholic Church, had the support of a good part of the hierarchy. After the war, Josemaría Escrivá returned to Madrid, and began to expand the work of Opus Dei to other cities in Spain. The start of World War II prevented attempts to expand Opus Dei internationally.
In 1941 it was approved as "Pious Union" by the Bishop of Madrid, Leopoldo Eijo y Garay, since from the date of its foundation in 1928 Opus Dei was without legal recognition by the Catholic Church. This figure was included in the Associations of the faithful, and did not imply a change of status for its members.
On February 14, 1943, Josemaría Escrivá finds a legal solution that will allow the ordination of priests within Opus Dei, the "Priestly Society of the Holy Cross." This is reflected a year later, on June 25, 1944, when it is legally recognized as a Society of life in common without public vows by the Bishop of Madrid, who ordains the first priests of Opus Dei: Álvaro del Portillo, José María Hernandez Garnica and Jose Luis Muzquiz. This Priestly Society is made up of some male members of Opus Dei who are preparing to be priests, and by those who are being ordained. The figure of Society of common life belonged to the state of perfection, and its clergy members issued the corresponding vows of Chastity, Poverty and Obedience.
After World War II, the founder of Opus Dei moved to Rome, realizing that if he wanted to spread his teachings around the world, he would have to establish the headquarters of Opus Dei in that city. In the following years he traveled throughout Europe to prepare the establishment of Opus Dei in various countries.
In 1946 the work of Opus Dei began in Portugal, Italy, England, Ireland and France.
After its establishment in Rome, new educational centers of Opus Dei began to be founded, among which the "Roman College of the Holy Cross" (founded in 1948, and currently one of the two Prelature Seminaries) stands out. , through which hundreds of "numerary" members of Opus Dei will pass from then on, who will receive spiritual and pastoral training while studying in various Roman pontifical athenaeums. With these studies, a large part of these numeraries prepare for the priesthood.
In 1947, Opus Dei received provisional approval from the Holy See as a Secular Institute of pontifical right. Definitive approval will be granted in 1950. Lay men and women and priests belong to the Institute, both those who come from the laity of the Institute and who are ordained to serve it, as well as diocesan priests who continue to depend on their respective Bishops.
Since 1949, the founder has promoted the expansion of Opus Dei throughout the world from Rome. Before the end of this year, the first members will go to the United States and Mexico. Each year new countries will be added.
In 1950 it began in Chile and Argentina. In 1951 they were the first to Venezuela and Colombia. In 1952 it began in Germany; in 1953 it was the turn of Peru and Guatemala; in 1954 work began in Ecuador; in 1956, in Switzerland and Uruguay; in 1957 the first steps were taken in Austria, Brazil and Canada; in 1958 he went to El Salvador, Kenya and Japan; in 1959 to Costa Rica. In 1960 to Holland.
In 1952, the activities of the General Study of Navarra began in Pamplona, which would eventually become the University of Navarra, with offices in the cities of Pamplona, San Sebastián, Barcelona and Madrid.
In 1953, the "Roman College of Santa Maria" was founded in Rome, aimed at numeraries, which is the equivalent of the "Roman College of the Holy Cross", with the same functions as the latter, except for preparation for the priesthood, since the Church It does not allow it.
On June 26, 1975, Josemaría Escrivá died in Rome. At that time some 60,000 people of 80 nationalities belong to Opus Dei.
In Huesca (Spain) the current Sanctuary of Torreciudad was inaugurated on July 7, 1975, an old project of its founder dating from 1960.
On September 15 of the same year, Álvaro del Portillo is elected to succeed the founder.
On November 28, 1982 John Paul II establishes it as the first personal prelature of the Catholic Church and appoints Álvaro del Portillo as prelate, to whom in 1991 he would confer episcopal ordination; Intrinsically linked to the prelature is the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, an association of priests to which the priests of the Prelature and those diocesan priests who wish to belong (and who do not cease to depend on their respective Bishops) belong.
In 1994 Alvaro del Portillo died, being chosen as his successor Javier Echevarría, the current Prelate and who was ordained Bishop in 1995.
Canonization of the founder
After the death of Josemaría Escrivá, the Holy See received thousands of letters - among them, those from a third of the world's episcopate - requesting the urgent opening of the beatification and canonization process. Finally, his cause was introduced in 1981 and on May 17, 1992, John Paul II beatified Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer and on October 6, 2002, he was canonized by said Pope.
The process (according to some, Escrivá's unusually fast canonization process enjoyed the support of prominent figures in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, ) was also marked by controversy and opposition.
Kenneth Woodward, a journalist for Newsweek magazine and author of the book The Making of Saints subtitled "How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and Why" (1990), says the official opponent, formerly called a lawyer of the devil, was overlooked and that important witnesses critical of Opus Dei were not called. According to him, it is not true that they heard eleven critics of the canonization of Escrivá, but rather that there was only one and members who were close to the founder at the time were rejected, among them: Maria del Carmen Tapia, Miguel Fisac, Father Vladimir Feltzman and John Roche. In this regard, it should be noted that the figure of the Devil's Advocate had been replaced by that of an opponent in the 1983 reform, and that the names of the opposing witnesses were introduced by the same Postulation of Opus Dei in the proposal of witnesses. for the Cause. However, most of them were rejected by the Ecclesiastical Court. Opus Dei also included in the documentation the publications contrary to Escrivá known until then
K. Woodward also affirms that the abundance of economic resources of Opus Dei was used to put financial pressure on hundreds of bishops, especially from the third world, to send favorable reports to those who were carrying out the process of canonization in Rome. However, for the trial judge (Father Rafael Pérez, an Augustinian who was the Devil's Advocate for years while this figure existed), this accusation is untenable: "No pressure of any kind is taken into account. It would be almost impossible and ineffective for there would be, because many people are involved in each of the different steps," he said in an interview that appeared in the Heraldo de Aragón newspaper on December 1, 1991.
Newsweek magazine also stated that two of the judges, Msgr. Luigi De Magistris, and Msgr. Justo Fernández Alonso, rector of the Spanish national church in Rome, did not approve the case. According to this Newsweek report, one of the dissidents wrote that Escriva's beatification could cause serious public scandal in the church.
K. Woodward also states that the consultors were mainly Italian and members of Opus Dei. However, despite the fact that, according to the practice in force in the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the names of the consultants cannot be made public (nor, therefore, their origin), in the process it was explicitly stated that none of them belonged to Opus Dei. In the document of John Paul II that regulates the processes, the figure of the opponent, which is spoken of, is not mentioned.
Causes of beatification of other members of Opus Dei
There are other causes open for the beatification of faithful of the Prelature of Opus Dei: Ernesto Cofiño, a Guatemalan pediatrician; Montserrat Grases, a Catalan university student, Toni Zweifel, a Swiss engineer; Bishop Álvaro del Portillo, Escrivá's successor; Eduardo Ortiz de Landázuri, a Spanish doctor, and his sister Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri; Isidoro Zorzano, Spanish engineer and worker of Argentine origin; José María Hernández Garnica, a priest born in Madrid; and the couple formed by Tomás Alvira and Paquita Domínguez, he a chemical doctor and she a teacher, among others.
Message
"Opus Dei" was founded as "...a path to sanctification aimed at all kinds of people," which was novel, since at that time it was common to think that only religious could be saints.
As Josemaría himself explained, the purpose of Opus Dei is "to help ensure that there are men and women of all races and social conditions in the world who seek to love and serve God and other men in and through their work." For its Founder, the main activity of Opus Dei is to give formation to its members and to the people who want to receive it, to the point that he sometimes summed up Opus Dei's role as "a great catechesis."
Here is a summary of the teachings of Escrivá de Balaguer, the official message of Opus Dei:
Ordinary life. Being members of the family of God through baptism, Christians are called to holiness, a life consistent with their new status as children of God. Most Christians must sanctify themselves in the world, writes Escrivá. This is how they follow in the footsteps of Jesus who, according to the Bible, worked as a carpenter and lived as the son of a Jewish family in a small village for 30 years.
Sanctification of work. Any work Christians do should be done in a spirit of excellence, as an effective service to the needs of society. Thus it will be a due offering to God. In his service work, Jesus did everything right (Mark 7:37).
Prayer and mortification. From Charity (love of God) springs constant prayer, supported by rules of piety by which the Christian relates to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and the Virgin Mary. The mortification, the "prayer of the senses", is done especially through a sporting struggle to acquire human virtues. These actions are offered at Mass, the center and root of Catholic life.
Charity and apostolate. Christians must give the utmost importance to the virtue of charity: understanding, compassion, courtesy, helping those in need, and fraternal correction. Charity requires the apostolate, giving the best to people: God himself, source of peace and joy.
unit of life The Christian who practices these teachings does not have a double life, a life of faith completely separate from his daily work. On the contrary, he has a "unity of life"—a profound union with Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect Man, a person in whom divine power is united with ordinary human activity. Thus, the work of a true Christian becomes the work of God, Opus Dei. This Christian, despite the defects that he humbly tries to eradicate, is "alter Christus, ipse Christus" another Christ, the same Christ.
According to Escrivá, the foundation of the Christian life is a personal awareness of divine affiliation. "Joy comes from knowing that we are children of God," says Josemaría. Opus Dei, he says, is "a smiling asceticism."
The spirituality of the institution is collected, to a great extent, in Escrivá de Balaguer's work “Camino”, a series of 999 points of meditation to guide the faithful.
According to the British Stephen Tomkins, author of "A Brief History of Christianity", "Opus Dei requires a kind of monastic vow, although not in a monastery but in the midst of society... Contemplatives in the midst of the world"[citation needed ]. The text indicates a certain tendency to qualify new forms in the Church with the usual categories, not always in accordance with the new charisms.
The idea of the universal call to holiness was preached by Saint Augustine and Saint Francis de Sales, who nevertheless emphasized the liturgy and the prayers. "Escrivá is more radical... For him, it is the same material work that must be transformed into prayer and holiness," as reflected by Cardinal Luciani, who would later become Pope under the name of John Paul I.
The premises of Opus Dei's message that all Christians can and should be saints are as follows: Christians believe that:
1. they are "poor creatures" made from nothing and that "their pride leads them to rebel against their Creator";
2. Christ is the living God who "created us and keeps us in existence" and "the only one who can satisfy the desires of the human heart";
3. Christ is a Savior who "loves us like crazy" and is the one who is most interested in our being holy: "This is the will of God: your sanctification" (Tess 4:3);
4. "This Christ who is alive is a Christ who is near,"
With the Holy Spirit indwelling a Christian who is willing to learn, the human spirit that was created to love, Escrivá said, is taken down an "inclined plane" that begins with the fervent repetition of short sentences and then gives way to divine intimacy, in a restless and tireless gaze at God..." Thus, one of his favorite teachings is the biblical mandate that everyone should love God with all their heart, soul, power and mind, a love that holds nothing back, a love that parents must pass on to their children all day long (Deut 6:4-9: Shema Yisrael), and that Christ called "the greatest commandment" (Mt 22:37-40) . And Escrivá also points to the new commandment of Jesus: Love one another as I loved you.
Institutional structure
Since 1982 it has been constituted as the only existing personal Prelature in the Catholic Church, given that the rest are territorial prelatures.
The prelature is made up of both priests and deacons from the secular clergy, as well as lay faithful, men and women, governed by a Prelate.
Before being erected as a personal prelature, already in 1947, it obtained the approval of the Vatican as a Secular Institute of Pontifical Right, with statutes being approved in 1950. Escrivá requested conversion to a personal prelature in 1962, and it was not until the papacy of John Paul II, who finally granted this request.
The Apostolic Constitution "Ut Sit" erected Opus Dei as the personal prelature of the Catholic Church on November 28, 1982. According to John Paul II "it was clearly seen that such a legal figure was perfectly adapted to Opus Dei", "bearing in mind the theological and genuine nature of the Institution." This personal prelature is for now the only one that exists in the Catholic Church.
As a personal prelature, its clergy is directly subject to the jurisdiction and authority of the Prelate of Opus Dei, and he, in turn, to that of the Pope, therefore he is not subject to the jurisdiction or authority of the diocesan bishop. This has given him ample independence within the Catholic Church, to exercise his apostolate, because, unlike the dioceses, which have a territorial jurisdiction, the personal prelatures —such as the military justiciaries— are in charge of people in terms of some particular objectives. regardless of where they live. As for the laity of Opus Dei, since they are no different from other Catholics, "they continue to be under the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop," in the words of Ut Sit. These secular structures are very different from religious orders or congregations.
According to critics of Opus Dei such as Juan José Tamayo-Acosta, theologian and professor at the Carlos III University of Madrid, Hans Küng, Leonardo Boff, Jesús Cardenal, Michael Walsh (former Jesuit) and Kenneth Woodward, a journalist for Newsweek, Opus Dei with this juridical category became de facto a "church within the Church", due to its great independence within it as it was not subject to the direct jurisdiction of the territorial dioceses.
Juan José Tamayo maintains that the Vatican found in Opus Dei a predominantly secular voice - a sort of "Trojan horse in the middle of the world" - as a shock force that would echo its opposition to abortion, the use of contraceptives, divorce, research with stem cells and the claims of homosexual groups, although some of these issues did not have special relevance in society when Opus Dei was established or when it was granted the legal figure of personal prelature. In any case, it should be noted that Opus Dei's positions on these issues are the same as those of the Catholic Church. A special "sympathy" on the part of John Paul II towards Opus Dei has also been suggested.
On the contrary, from Opus Dei it is pointed out: "No part of the Church constitutes "a church within the Church", but precisely the opposite: each part promotes bonds of communion with respect to the whole Church. (...) The legitimate autonomy of Opus Dei to carry out its ecclesial mission, as for the rest, the autonomy that to varying degrees is proper to every member of the faithful and to any ecclesial reality, is always autonomy in communion with the universal Church and the Roman Pontiff, and with the particular Churches and the diocesan Bishops.In this sense, Opus Dei, in its current configuration as a prelature, enjoys the autonomy of the entities of the hierarchical constitution of the Church (whose head is a subject with episcopal power), which is different from the autonomy of entities with an associative structure".
Member types
As has already been pointed out, Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church, made up of priests, deacons, and laity headed by a Prelate. Finally, the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross is a priestly association intrinsically linked to the prelature to which diocesan priests may belong. When it is said that a person belongs to Opus Dei, it means that they fall into one of these categories: the priests of the prelature, the laity who dedicate themselves to their apostolic works, and the diocesan priests of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross.
In turn, within each group there are several subtypes:
Priests of the Prelature: they can be numeraries or associates.
Lay people: they can be numeraries/numeraries, aggregates/aggregates, supernumeraries/supernumeraries or auxiliary numeraries.
Diocesan priests: they can be added or supernumerary.
Lastly, both institutions (the prelature and the Priestly Society) admit Cooperators (of any type the first, only diocesan priests the second), who without belonging to them, help them in a stable way, with their alms, their prayers or their work. .
Priests of Opus Dei
They represent less than 2% of its total members, which gives Opus Dei a fundamentally lay nature within the Catholic Church. They come from the numeraries and lay associates of Opus Dei. Mainly, they attend to lay members and work in apostolic tasks. The main government positions in the prelature (Prelate, Regional Vicars and Delegate Vicars) are usually occupied by members of this category.
The priests who make up the clergy of the prelature were called by the prelate to become priests, and they freely accepted that call. They carry out their priestly studies in Opus Dei centers or seminaries (not in diocesan seminaries), and Opus Dei is responsible for their support (accommodation, clothing, etc.).
The numerary and aggregate priests live like the numerary and aggregate laymen, respectively: the numerary priests in centers of the prelature, and the aggregate priests with their families, in residences, alone, etc. Several numerary priests have been ordained bishops by the Pope.
Supernumeraries
They are the most numerous, currently representing about 70 percent of the total membership. Supernumeraries have no commitment to celibacy (that is, they can marry), live and work where they see fit, and seek sanctification with their ordinary life, in addition to having a spiritual life plan with various means of formation and practices of piety. Due to their profession and family obligations, supernumeraries do not have as much availability as numeraries and associates, but they usually collaborate financially with Opus Dei or offer support as circumstances allow. They do not hold managerial positions.
Laity of Opus Dei
As has already been pointed out, they represent the vast majority of the members of Opus Dei (more than 98%). There are several types of lay members in the Opus Dei Prelature: supernumeraries, numeraries, associates, and auxiliary numeraries. The differences between them consist mainly in whether they live celibate or not and whether they live in centers of the prelature or not. One thing and another determine the availability of the members to help in the apostolic activities of the Prelature.
Although sometimes it is spoken in the masculine, in all the groups (except for the auxiliary numeraries) there are men and women: numeraries and numeraries, etc. Both sections (male and female) are completely independent (different centers and different apostolic tasks).
Aggregates (until 1982, Oblates):
They are members with a commitment to celibacy who -unlike numeraries- live with their families, or where it is most convenient for professional reasons. They are approximately 10% of the members of Opus Dei. They do not hold managerial positions in the Work.
Numeraries:
They comprise approximately 20% of the members. Numeraries are members with a commitment to celibacy who generally live in an Opus Dei center. They can, in principle, exercise a civil profession, but they must be willing to give up their exercise, if the Prelature requests it to exercise another function within the organization.
They are the first responsible for the formation of the other members of Opus Dei, and they usually hold managerial positions. Numeraries and numeraries (but not the auxiliary numeraries) receive a philosophical and theological training that, throughout their lives, is comparable to that received by priests in seminaries.
Auxiliary numeraries:
They are numeraries who dedicate themselves exclusively to domestic work (cleaning, cooking, clothes care, management, etc.) of the centres. They live in Opus Dei centers and usually do not exercise an external profession. They do not usually have higher education, and do not hold managerial positions.
In the statutes of Opus Dei it is said about the auxiliary numeraries:
(...) In addition, in the women's section, the auxiliary Numeraries, with the same availability as the other Numeraries, dedicate their lives mainly to manual work or domestic chores, which they voluntarily accept as their own professional work, at the headquarters of the centers of the Work. (no. 9)..
Priests of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross
The Priestly Society of the Holy Cross is an association of clerics (priests), intrinsically linked to the personal prelature of Opus Dei. The diocesan priests and deacons who wish to belong to it, and the priests (aggregates and numeraries) of the clergy of the prelature. Just over 2,000 diocesan priests and 1,900 priests of the prelature are part of it (2007). The prelate of Opus Dei is the president of the Society.
Cooperators of Opus Dei
The cooperators of Opus Dei are not members of the prelature, but collaborate in different ways with it (prayers, alms, work). To be a Cooperator it is not necessary to be a Christian, but only to have the desire to collaborate with the activities and/or goals of Opus Dei.
Cooperators can participate in educational and training activities of Opus Dei. Likewise, religious communities can be cooperators of the Prelature. Currently there are hundreds of these communities that cooperate through their prayers for Opus Dei and its apostolates.
The Administration of the Centers of Opus Dei
One of the assignments that the Women's Section of Opus Dei has is to take care of domestic chores in the Centers of the Prelature, both for men and women.
For almost all the auxiliary numeraries and for some numeraries, the maintenance tasks of the Centers constitute their professional work, and therefore where they must seek their own sanctification.
When it comes to a Men's Center, the separation between men and women is total. Ordinarily there should be a double door between the auxiliary house and the residents. There is usually no type of relationship between the auxiliaries and the residents of the centers, to the point that it is not unusual for them not to know each other's names or have conversations. The entrances of the numeraries and the auxiliaries are always different, it is even ensured that they are in different streets, so that the people who live in one house and another do not see each other when they go in and out. With all this, the aim is to avoid any basis for gossip about the degree of compliance with the commitment to celibacy by the members.
Incorporation and exit
To belong to Opus Dei it is required to request it freely. The formal incorporation to the Prelature is carried out by means of a bilateral agreement that stipulates the commitments mutually assumed by the interested party and by the Prelature itself.
The link of the faithful with the Prelature is established by means of a declaration of a moral nature between the person who wishes to request admission (previously requested by letter to the prelate) and a representative of the prelate, before a witness. Between the request by letter of admission to the prelate and the final legal incorporation of the applicant there were at least six and a half years, during which time the applicant must renew his intention annually. If this is not done, the mutual obligations disappear, and donations of goods or money are not returned in any case, nor are they compensated for the work carried out up to that moment.
The link with the prelature ceases at the end of the term of the contract, or before, if the Prelature so considers it or if the interested party so wishes, requesting a waiver from the Prelate. If said dispensation is not requested, one would be faced with what "Opus Dei" considers an "illegitimate exit" and therefore the member who abandons his vocation, without having obtained the necessary dispensation, could sin mortally.
Legally, of their own free will and at any time, anyone can leave "Opus Dei" without any legal obligation to remain, since the contractual commitment is of a purely moral nature. In certain cases, donated or testated assets may be repossessed.
To expand this information:
Incorporation into Opus Dei
Departure from Opus Dei
Instruction and training
training media
The means of personal formation are fraternal talk or confidence (which is what, in the rest of the Church, is known as proper spiritual direction) and fraternal correction (Catechism of Opus Dei, n 200). The goal is to help the faithful to improve their inner life and other aspects of their personal life.
The means of collective formation are: the Brief Circles or the Study Circles, the monthly retreats, the spiritual retreat courses, the annual courses and gatherings, the monthly collationes; in addition to other classes or talks, special gatherings, etc. (Catechism of Opus Dei. n. 201). They seek to deepen the knowledge of the doctrine of the Church and the spirit of Opus Dei.
spiritual direction
Spiritual direction is an important part of the training received by members of Opus Dei. The direction is provided through personal talks (weekly) with the priests of the Prelature in confession. Fraternal correction is also part of spiritual direction. Another means is the "Fraternal Talk", which was born as a personal conversation with Saint Josemaría about the spirit and customs of the Work, and which, as the number increased, began to take place weekly and with the director.[ citation needed]
The fraternal correction
In Opus Dei, "fraternal correction" is habitually practiced, to which great importance is attached as a means of helping others to improve. These corrections can be made to everyone, including priests and Directors.
In the case of Opus Dei, before making the fraternal correction, the director of the correction should be consulted, and after it is done, report it. According to some critics, this amounts to ratting the brother out to superiors. According to Opus Dei, it is done to avoid a person receiving the same fraternal correction several times, or a fraternal correction that is not prudent; not so that the superior knows the defects of the corrected.
Confession
Sacramental confession is in Opus Dei, as in the rest of the Catholic Church, a basic means to advance in the process of identification with Christ, which is the ideal of a Christian consistent with his Faith.
The practice of this Sacrament in Opus Dei has some particular characteristics. The main ones are: its weekly frequency, with the usual confessor.
Attitudes towards Opus Dei
Described as "the most controversial force in the Catholic Church," in the words of the critic Allen, Opus Dei is seen by some theologians as a sign of contradiction and by others as a source of controversy, at the same time that it has found support in the Popes. and Catholic leaders, has been criticized by different sectors and former members.
critics
Aggressive recruitment and proselytizing of adolescents, especially in schools run by Opus Dei. According to Tammy DiNicola, a former numerary who worked on these tasks, Opus Dei promotes many types of social projects, but she believes that there is a hidden motive behind it: to recruit new members for the Work.
Ignorance at the time of requesting admission of the numerous obligations and restrictions to which full members are subsequently progressively subjected.
Encourage full members to break contact with their friends and family in favor of contacts within the group.
Threatening members who try to leave. At least psychological coercion towards members who wish to leave Opus Dei. Especially full members, who are sometimes referred to psychiatrists or psychologists belonging to the Work, before letting them leave, to treat their "vocational problems".
Absolute control over the daily activities of the full members, requiring permission to carry out any unregulated activity, and giving a detailed account of their activities each week to their superiors through weekly confidentiality. They must also deliver all the money they earn to the organization and make a will in their favor.
Lack of respect for the correspondence of numeraries, who frequently receive letters from their friends and relatives opened and read by those responsible for the centers. Numeraries are also induced to deliver the letters they write open to the directors, so that they can read them, and censor them where appropriate.
Lack of freedom to choose confessor and spiritual director.
Critics have often attacked practices such as bodily mortification involving the use of the hair shirt and the disciplines (small rope whip of a span and a half). This practice is reinforced by the story that Escrivá de Balaguer applied these practices so much that he left traces of blood on the walls of his room, although he later indicated that members should not do so.
The personal activity of the founder is also criticized and, for example, it is pointed out that, in 1968, Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer asked the Francoist Government of Spain to be appointed Marquis of Peralta (a noble title that did not correspond to him by family lineage, but which was granted that same year). Four years later, and without having used it, he would give this title to his brother. A study by the historian Ricardo de la Cierva demonstrated through his research documents that the granting of this appointment had been irregular. The request -according to de la Cierva- would have been motivated by the Founder's desire to do something for his family, who had suffered so much and sincerely convinced that he was protected by the right to that claim.
The practically unanimous support of the Church for the central message of Josemaría Escrivá contrasts with the silence in the face of the novelties that Opus Dei and its Founder introduce in relation to the spiritual life: there is no intervention of ecclesiastical dignitaries in favor of the new ways ascetics introduced by Opus Dei. Neither the fact that spiritual direction is carried out mainly by lay people, nor its dependence on the governance structure of the Prelature, nor the obligation of members to allow their superiors to know their intimacy, nor that fraternal correction includes the duty to inform the superior of the brother's defects, have never received the approval or rejection of the Catholic authorities. However, some Catholic officials have reacted with concern to the complaints received against alleged abuses committed by Opus Dei.
Responses to criticism
Opus Dei spokesman Jack Valero denies all the accusations against the "Work" although he admits that some may have made mistakes. It is common in history for new Catholic institutions to be criticized: the Dominicans were, the Jesuits were even banned, Saint Teresa of Jesus and Saint John of the Cross encountered great difficulties in reforming Carmel, Saint Joseph Calasanz was expelled from the congregation that he founded, Saint Faustina Kowalska, was criticized within his congregation, the founder of Schönstatt also suffered a lot.
Regarding the complaints from former members, Valero explains that it hurts him that they left on bad terms and speak ill of Opus Dei, but he also highlights the cases of people who left the group and maintain a good relationship with it. However, he clarifies that he does not question the credibility of the people who tell of their bad experiences.
On the "criticisms of some ex-members," John L. Allen, Jr. says that much of what the critics say is contradicted by many other ex-members, by the large number of members present, and by the people involved in the activities of Opus Dei
favorable postures
The core of the message transmitted by Opus Dei has been praised by many ecclesiastical personalities. Both the universal call to holiness and apostolate and the sanctifying importance of professional work appear in speeches and interventions by Bishops, Cardinals and theologians, even in various Church documents related to Opus Dei, pointing to the novelty of its message.
John Paul II said that "Opus Dei anticipated the theology of the lay state that is a characteristic note of the Church of the Council and after the Council" and described its end as "a great ideal". Benedict XVI, three years before becoming Pope, when he was directing the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that the life and message of Escrivá are "a message of great importance... that leads to overcoming the great temptation of our time —the fiction that after the 'Big Bang' God withdrew from history".
Through the teaching of the sanctifying value of work, ordinary people already have a "genuine lay spirituality" to become saints. According to Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, the "great originality" of Opus Dei's message lies in systematically proclaiming that:
(1) all men and women are created to work (Gen 2:15);
(2) everyone is called to holiness; Y
(3) all created realities have been sanctified by God-man: movies, computers, excursions, sports are and should be "means of sanctification."
Expanding on the subject, the "absolute novelty" of Opus Dei, according to Cardinal Franz König, lies in its teaching about the need for the professional world and the world of relationship with God "in fact to walk together." In this "Christian materialism," as Escrivá calls it, Christians who live an integral life of prayer and mortification are called to "passionately love the world" and "liberate creation from disorder."
In this regard, the action of Cardinal Basil Hume, Archbishop of Westminster, is illustrative, since, in 1998, at a thanksgiving mass for the 70th anniversary of the founding of Opus Dei, he stated:
"The founder of Opus Dei understood that he should urge men and women of all kinds and conditions to seek holiness and to carry out an apostolate in the middle of the world, in the exercise of their profession, without having to change their profession. You do not have to change your way of life, but above all to change one's own heart. That message of seventy years ago anticipated the Decree on the role of the laity in the world of the Second Vatican Council".
The same Cardinal also asked Opus Dei to respect the freedom of members regarding spiritual direction.
The current Pope Benedict XVI, before occupying said position, expressed Escrivá's thought, "a Christ in whom the power and majesty of God is made present through human, simple and ordinary things." Waiting as a Merciful Father in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and truly present in the Eucharistic bread, Christ makes himself "fully available" to nurture the Christian so that he becomes "one with him." With the gift of this "divinization" in grace, "a new beginning of energy," and with the support of "the family of Christ," the Church, and a good spiritual director, the difficult task of being a saint, "is also easy," says Escrivá. And he adds: "It is within our reach."
Holiness is shunned, according to Ratzinger (2002), because there is "a misconception of holiness...that it would be reserved for some 'greats'... who are very different from us, normal sinners. But it is a misconception that has been corrected precisely by Josemaría Escrivá". The saint has heroic virtue because “he has been available to let God act. Being a saint is nothing more than talking to God as a friend talks to a friend, the only One who can really make this world good and happy.”
According to John Allen, a Catholic journalist and CNN Vaticanologist, these accusations are myths that have nothing to do with the reality of Opus Dei.
Controversies surrounding Opus Dei
Accusations of constituting a sect
One of the frequent accusations against Opus Dei is to describe this institution as a religious sect.
In Spain, the association Projuventud AIS (Advice and Information on Sects), has offered to give advice that it defines as "not committed to religious positions" to families affected by Opus Dei proselytism. Other associations such as ODAN appeared in the United States to offer help to former members affected by Opus Dei. Similarly, due to proselytizing with minors, the association "Our Lady and St. Joseph in Search of the Lost Child" was founded, with prominent members in different countries such as the United States, France, England, Ireland.
Massimo Introvigne, a well-known cult expert and Catholic activist, points out that secularists, progressive Catholics, and anti-Catholics stigmatize Opus Dei with the term "cult" because it has been their "main target for many years." Secularists fight Opus Dei, he says, because "they cannot tolerate 'the return of the religious' in secularized society."
Secularists affirm that secularism is an inseparable principle of democracy, because religious beliefs are not a dogma that should be imposed on anyone or become laws. The Church (and with it Opus Dei) recognizes that "secularism, understood as autonomy of the civil and political sphere from the religious and ecclesiastical sphere –never from the moral sphere–, is a value acquired and recognized by the Church, and belongs to the heritage of civilization achieved".
On the part of Opus Dei and the Catholic hierarchy, it is emphasized that it is not correct to call a prelature of the Catholic Church a sect and that a sect is an unrecognized organization and Opus Dei is recognized by the Church.
Introvigne also says that as the prelature that Opus Dei is, it is "at the very heart of the socio-administrative organization of the Catholic Church" and that stigmatizing it as a "sect" either comes from a use of "quantitative criteria" that do not examines the beliefs but only the intensity of the practices, or "of the pure political desire to use a particularly denigrating classification against an adversary that considers him dangerous. But it is obvious that - if one uses quantitative elements or if one stigmatizes groups as sects whose spirituality does not suit one's own taste—'sects' can be found everywhere, and one can include among them the entire Catholic Church itself."
In the exhaustive report of the French National Assembly on sects, Opus Dei is not mentioned.
The Da Vinci Code
Opus Dei received worldwide attention following the publication of Dan Brown's best-selling fiction, The Da Vinci Code. After calling Opus Dei a "Catholic sect" on the "fact page" of his novel, Brown believes a story in which people in the organization are portrayed as devoted fanatics, used by swindlers for sinister ends.Brown says his portrayal of Opus Dei is based on interviews with members and former members, and on the books that have written about Opus Dei.
The aforementioned book has received a multitude of criticisms on this matter and its constant inaccuracies and historical, theological and even geographical inaccuracies.
While Opus Dei spokesman Marc Carrogio made a "declaration of peace" toward those behind The Da Vinci Code, some offended Christian scholars point out that "the misrepresentation of Christian beliefs in The Da Vinci Code is so aggressive and ongoing that the only conclusion is that it is a result of deliberate ignorance or determined malice."
accusations of secrecy
The members of Opus Dei are characterized by their discretion according to their defenders or their secrecy according to their detractors. Its founder explained that "the easiest way to understand Opus Dei is to think about the life of the first Christians. They lived their Christian vocation to the fullest; they seriously sought the perfection to which they were called by the simple and sublime fact of Baptism." They were not outwardly distinguished from other citizens."
Like so many other organizations, Opus Dei does not publicly disclose who is or ceases to be a member of the organization; this information is private and the recognition of this fact is left to the free choice of each member.
Until 1950, Opus Dei did not have a full legal status within the Church, with the first constitution. Article 191, modified in a revision of the statutes in the eighties when Opus Dei was named Personal Prelature, in the original constitution read: «Full and supernumerary members know well that they must always observe prudent silence about the names of other associates and that they must never reveal to anyone that they belong to Opus Dei». That lack of publicity gave an image of secrecy that continues to this day, despite the statutes and constitutions of Opus Dei being public.
This has tended to create the suspicion that Opus Dei functions as a secret society and, until well into the 1980s, it has been practically impossible, not just for the common people, but even for the clerics and, according to some, for many of the members fully know the Constitutions and regulations of the association.
Based on reports from Spain, in the 1940s, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, D. Wlodimir Ledochowski (1866-1942), told the Vatican that he considered Opus Dei "very dangerous for the Church of Spain." And he blamed it for having "a secret character" in addition to the fact that there were "signs of an inclination to dominate the world through a form of Christian Freemasonry". According to Vázquez de Prada, a member of Opus Dei (1997), Berglar (1994), the Catholic journalists Messori (1997), and Allen (2005), this initial controversy, which came from highly respected ecclesiastical circles (the "opposition of the good", according to Escrivá) will be the first root of subsequent accusations throughout the world: that it is a secret society, dangerous and inclined to power and money. These accusations have been refuted by both the founder and his successors.
In this regard, the Italian Parliament investigated Opus Dei in 1986 and concluded that it was not a secret society. On the contrary, a Commission of the Belgian Parliament included Opus Dei in the list of dangerous sects for youth in response, among other factors, to the protests of families whose children have been proselytized by Opus Dei.
The German courts, for their part, have indicated that Opus Dei is not authorized to publish lists, since membership is a matter that is part of the private sphere that must be respected[citation needed].
Nor does the report of the French National Assembly on sects consider Opus Dei as such.
Lack of orthodoxy and ultra-conservatism
In the task of teaching its message, Opus Dei encountered controversy and rejection by numerous detractors, including some bishops. Cardinal Julián Herranz, a member of Opus Dei, said that "Opus Dei was a victim of Christianophobia."
In the 1940s, some Jesuits, such as D. Ángel Carrillo de Albornoz (who later left the Society of Jesus), denounced Opus Dei as "a new heresy" for not being orthodox for lay people to be saints without vows and habits. There was also concern that Opus Dei would reduce vocations to religious orders.
The current Pope Benedict XVI, when he was a cardinal, said that Opus Dei is "the surprising union of absolute fidelity to the tradition and faith of the Church, and unconditional openness to all the challenges of this world." However, Opus Dei has been criticized for promoting an overly orthodox (pre-conciliar) view of the Roman Catholic faith. Critics say [citation needed] that Opus Dei managed to get closer to the Vatican leadership thanks to Pope John Paul II, to become a "church within the church" being used as a "shock force" by necessity to carry out a "new evangelization" with ultraconservative and reactionary principles. On the other hand, its supporters[citation needed] say that this term "conservative" is misapplied to religious, moral and intellectual notions. However, others say[citation needed] that the term is broad enough to refer to attitudes of conservatism in general, not exclusively in the political field.
The current prelate, Javier Echevarria, says that "if the word conservative is used outside the political context, it could be said that the entire Church is conservative, because it preserves and transmits the Gospel of Christ, the sacraments, the treasure of the life of the saints, their works of charity. For analogous reasons, the entire Church is progressive, because it looks to the future, believes in young people, does not seek privileges, is close to the poor and the needy. In other words, Opus Dei is conservative and progressive as is the whole Church, neither more nor less.
Escrivá also says that "Religion is the greatest rebellion of men who do not want to live like beasts."
Opus Dei and its relationship with politics
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Spanish head of state and dictator Francisco Franco appointed various members of "Opus Dei" as ministers and senior officials within the regime. These ministers, then known as the "technocrats", are generally credited with having introduced a capitalist-liberal ideology into Franco's dictatorship, also modernizing the Spanish economy which contrasted with earlier Falangist, Carlist and military influences. This fact led to the spread of the idea of "Opus Dei" supporting the Franco regime and vice versa. The English historian and Hispanist Paul Preston affirms (1993) that Franco appointed them as ministers because of their technical ability and not because they belonged to "Opus Dei".
Regarding the accusation that "Opus Dei" was a kind of political party in Franco's government, Messori says that this is a "black legend" that the Spanish Falange and some clerics have propagated and allege that the Franco regime also persecuted some members of Opus Dei. However, according to the historian Ricardo de la Cierva: "The comparison of members of Opus Dei in Franco's power and in the opposition is false. The vast majority were in power; they initiated a current of very minority opposition among themselves already At the very end of the regime, through Professor Calvo Serer, who for decades had been an ardent supporter of Franco and his regime like Antonio Fontán and Rafael Calvo Serer.
In more recent times, during the government stage of the Spanish Popular Party (1996-2004), some members of Opus Dei, such as Federico Trillo or Isabel Tocino, were appointed ministers by the then leader of that party, José María Aznar. In the same way, the former attorney general of the state, Jesús Cardenal, is a member of the prelature. Another member who also held a high position was Juan Cotino as Director General of the Spanish National Police. Within Basque nationalism, holding an ideological position contrary to those mentioned above, Rafael Larreina de Eusko Alkartasuna, former parliamentarian and current second vice president of the Basque Parliament, belongs to Opus Dei.
In any case, John Allen notes that, although Opus Dei, from an institutional point of view, "does not have an official political position", there is little doubt that many of its members are politically conservative as are most of the Spanish Catholics within the dynamics maintained by the Partido Popular and Partido Socialista Obrero Español in Spain at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st.
It also maintains today a certain presence of some of its members and sympathizers in financial and political elites, especially in those of conservative Catholic tendency[citation needed]. Having received the support of various political and business leaders[citation needed] such as Lech Walesa from Poland, Corazón Aquino from the Philippines, Thomas Murphy from General Motors, Ruth Kelly from the United Kingdom, Raymond Barre from France, Charles Malik, former President of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization and that they are some of the personalities who consider the influence of Opus Dei in the world to be positive.
The members of Opus Dei emphasize that the institution has a solely spiritual purpose, and that each member assumes their professional responsibilities in the world of politics or business, without involving the other members and even less the institution. Escrivá said that the faithful of Opus Dei could have the political position they wanted, as long as it did not contradict Catholic doctrine.
The opposing positions are reflected in how point 353 of Escrivá's book "Camino" is interpreted:
"Non-denominationalism, neutrality: old myths that are always trying to revive themselves. Have you bothered to ponder how absurd it is to stop being a Catholic when you enter the university or the professional association or the learned assembly or parliament, like someone who leaves the hat at the door" ("Road", point 353)
Alberto Moncada, a former critical member, suggested that perhaps Opus Dei's alleged search for influence in society is channeled through its colleges and universities, so that its religious principles become a model of life.
Critics also say that the members of Opus Dei would not be free in political matters, since they would follow a "national-Catholic" ideology and according to them the members of Opus Dei would be on the political right, promoting a conservative influence in the world. , promoting the more traditional policies of the Vatican. According to the "Opus Dei" spokespersons, this would not prove Opus Dei's relationship with politics, but rather the political activity of some of its members.
However, the debate about Opus Dei and its role in politics continues today.
Opus Dei today
As for the number of members, Opus Dei has maintained a slight numerical growth for several decades, especially in Europe. Since 1990 there has been approximately a 4% increase in their number, while in the 1960s and 1970s their membership had increased by more than 45%[citation needed]. This is partly a consequence of the progressive secularization of those countries where it had traditionally settled in the first place, such as Spain, Italy and Portugal[citation needed], and a low rate of penetration in the rest of European countries. And in Latin America, due in part to the phenomenon of the expansion of Protestant churches[citation needed], which in Brazil, for example, come to cover more than 20% of a population, previously almost entirely Catholic. Its expansion is currently somewhat greater in the countries of the former communist bloc, especially Poland, homeland of Pope John Paul II (there are about 450 members of Opus Dei in Poland), where, until the fall of the Iron Curtain, Opus Dei as an organization it did not have an official presence, as well as in others in Asia, such as the Philippines, where the largest group on this continent is found.
The distribution by continents of the members, according to data from the 2009 Pontifical Yearbook, is approximately as follows:
Africa: 1,800
Asia and Oceania: 4,800
America: 29,400
Europe: 49,000
According to Messori, in terms of socio-economic level of education, salary, social status, what predominates in Opus Dei is people from the middle and lower levels and affirms that in Latin America, for example, Opus Dei is popular among peasants . Gómez Pérez says that the social composition of Opus Dei corresponds to the local situation and that there are more professors among the members, since Opus Dei emphasizes proselytizing among intellectuals.
The Work supports numerous schools, institutes and several universities, and regularly opens new centers, since in the academic aspect, due to the prestige and technical quality of its teaching centers, it currently has an important social demand. Examples of the above would be the University of Navarra, with its IESE master's program, and the University Clinic, based in Barcelona and Pamplona (Navarra), respectively. Another example of this is the University of Piura, the University of the Andes (Chile), the Austral University, the IAE Business School and the Austral Hospital, with offices in Buenos Aires, Pilar and Rosario, Argentina. In his 2005 study, Allen says that there are 608 projects in the world promoted by the laity and priests of the Work: of these 41% are colleges, 26% are technical and agricultural schools, 27% are university residences, and 6% there are 17 universities, 12 business schools, and 8 hospitals.
Bibliography
Annex: Bibliography on Opus Dei
official pages
Opus Dei Official Website
Romana Official Bulletin of the Prelature of Opus Dei
Official website of Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei
Center for Documentation and Studies Josemaría Escrivá
Writings of the founder of Opus Dei
San Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer Historical Institute
Opus Dei Official Page in Chile
Opus Dei Official Page in Colombia
Youtube. Opus Dei Channel
favorable websites
Opus Dei up to date: 8 blogs with testimonies about Opus Dei
Cooperators Association.
Doubts and texts. Books about Opus Dei, its Founder and members
critical websites
Opuslibros Testimonies, critical analyzes and documents. Maintained, among others, by former members.
ODAN, United States (Information from former US members. English and Spanish).
Catholic Church
apostolic catholic church
Basilica of Saint Peter
Current Primate Pope Benedict XVI
Headquarters Vatican City
Main territory World, it is the majority in Latin America, the Philippines and most of Latin Europe
Rite : Eucharist, Liturgy of the Hours
Latin Rites (Roman, Ambrosian, Hispanic), Armenian, Alexandrian, Byzantine, Antiochene
liturgical languages latin
Gregorian Calendar
Organization
