Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 95
Vatican, and that it may be the driving force behind the conservative backlash to liberalizing
elements inadvertently released by Vatican II. (In fact, only 0.9 percent of those who are
Catholic bishops are Opus members). Allen looks squarely into the problem of transparency
as one of the flaws in the group, which even the group acknowledges has led to
considerable misunderstanding. The secrecy lends itself to extreme misrepresentation in
The Da Vinci Code, for example, because there is no accessible popular information to
contradict it!
Allen substantiates charges of deceptive recruiting, pointing out that some members would
invite friends to Opus Dei activities without mentioning that the group was behind the
activities. Another tendency was to not reveal the high demands initially to new recruits. A
third tactic was to ―provoke a crisis of vocation‖ when a recruiter believed that someone was
ready for it. But Allen notes that not all Opus Dei members among the hundreds he
interviewed behaved this way, nor were they all politically conservative. In fact, Allen
discovered that the deceptive tactics are not a policy from the top, but the result of
overzealous members. Most members, he found, do fall into the conservative camp,
however. In principle, each member votes according to individual conscience—Opus Dei
member groups in South America, for example, have entirely different political and social
climates than those in the United States or Spain. Another myth that Allen exposes is that
Opus Dei works in high places and does no charitable work. Opus members have in fact set
up schools and medical charities for the poor in third-world countries. These members are
actually following the spirit of the founder, who expected every member to act in the world
as Christ would.
If I have a criticism of Allen‘s book, it regards factors that may be beyond his scope. From
his book, we learn that new movements, like saints, are flawed entities and often rub
contemporaries the wrong way. Allen tells us about Josemaria Escrivá‘s flaws, even if his
devotees shrink from recognizing anything beyond the legend of his holiness. But Escrivá
and his more dedicated devotees envision more than just another movement equal to
hundreds of others spawned within Catholicism. Their purpose is to infiltrate all aspects of
society with God‘s grace through ―the Work.‖ The path emphasizes work on oneself through
mortification, as if this will bring more of God‘s grace into being.
Allen quotes Escrivá from his writings in The Way (227): ―If you realize that your body is
your enemy, and an enemy of God‘s glory since it is an enemy of your sanctification, why
do you treat it so softly?‖ In The Forge, by Escrivá, he states: ―What has been lost through
the flesh, the flesh should pay back: be generous in your penance.‖ Although members will
dispute it, in this latter regard, Opus Dei falls into the radical dualism of the Gnostic cults
that denigrate the corporeal self in favor of a spiritualized self. In addition, Gnosticism as
one of the early Gospel heresies, like much of occultism in general, emphasizes a magical
union with the divine through ritual prayer and mortification. Simply put, God gives you
more grace if you pray more or fast more. The Gospel and especially the writings attributed
to St. Paul do not support this nonsensical approach to God. In effect, such cults tend to
separate members from a reasonable approach to faith, and to cut off one‘s reason in
matters of faith is always dangerous.
Allen does not offer a neat answer to the question of how harmful Opus Dei is. His research
indicates that some ex-members have legitimate complaints, but, like any new organization,
Opus Dei has made adjustments and decreased what appears as secrecy during the past
two decades. Using his analogy that Opus is like strong beer, one can understand how the
group members might lose the more sober approach to religion common to Catholics. His
book corrects misperceptions about conspiratorial power, and it places the mortification
rituals in context. Unless Allen missed something, I got the impression that I suffered more
mortification playing high-school football for four seasons than an Opus Dei member will in
a lifetime of religious practice!
Vatican, and that it may be the driving force behind the conservative backlash to liberalizing
elements inadvertently released by Vatican II. (In fact, only 0.9 percent of those who are
Catholic bishops are Opus members). Allen looks squarely into the problem of transparency
as one of the flaws in the group, which even the group acknowledges has led to
considerable misunderstanding. The secrecy lends itself to extreme misrepresentation in
The Da Vinci Code, for example, because there is no accessible popular information to
contradict it!
Allen substantiates charges of deceptive recruiting, pointing out that some members would
invite friends to Opus Dei activities without mentioning that the group was behind the
activities. Another tendency was to not reveal the high demands initially to new recruits. A
third tactic was to ―provoke a crisis of vocation‖ when a recruiter believed that someone was
ready for it. But Allen notes that not all Opus Dei members among the hundreds he
interviewed behaved this way, nor were they all politically conservative. In fact, Allen
discovered that the deceptive tactics are not a policy from the top, but the result of
overzealous members. Most members, he found, do fall into the conservative camp,
however. In principle, each member votes according to individual conscience—Opus Dei
member groups in South America, for example, have entirely different political and social
climates than those in the United States or Spain. Another myth that Allen exposes is that
Opus Dei works in high places and does no charitable work. Opus members have in fact set
up schools and medical charities for the poor in third-world countries. These members are
actually following the spirit of the founder, who expected every member to act in the world
as Christ would.
If I have a criticism of Allen‘s book, it regards factors that may be beyond his scope. From
his book, we learn that new movements, like saints, are flawed entities and often rub
contemporaries the wrong way. Allen tells us about Josemaria Escrivá‘s flaws, even if his
devotees shrink from recognizing anything beyond the legend of his holiness. But Escrivá
and his more dedicated devotees envision more than just another movement equal to
hundreds of others spawned within Catholicism. Their purpose is to infiltrate all aspects of
society with God‘s grace through ―the Work.‖ The path emphasizes work on oneself through
mortification, as if this will bring more of God‘s grace into being.
Allen quotes Escrivá from his writings in The Way (227): ―If you realize that your body is
your enemy, and an enemy of God‘s glory since it is an enemy of your sanctification, why
do you treat it so softly?‖ In The Forge, by Escrivá, he states: ―What has been lost through
the flesh, the flesh should pay back: be generous in your penance.‖ Although members will
dispute it, in this latter regard, Opus Dei falls into the radical dualism of the Gnostic cults
that denigrate the corporeal self in favor of a spiritualized self. In addition, Gnosticism as
one of the early Gospel heresies, like much of occultism in general, emphasizes a magical
union with the divine through ritual prayer and mortification. Simply put, God gives you
more grace if you pray more or fast more. The Gospel and especially the writings attributed
to St. Paul do not support this nonsensical approach to God. In effect, such cults tend to
separate members from a reasonable approach to faith, and to cut off one‘s reason in
matters of faith is always dangerous.
Allen does not offer a neat answer to the question of how harmful Opus Dei is. His research
indicates that some ex-members have legitimate complaints, but, like any new organization,
Opus Dei has made adjustments and decreased what appears as secrecy during the past
two decades. Using his analogy that Opus is like strong beer, one can understand how the
group members might lose the more sober approach to religion common to Catholics. His
book corrects misperceptions about conspiratorial power, and it places the mortification
rituals in context. Unless Allen missed something, I got the impression that I suffered more
mortification playing high-school football for four seasons than an Opus Dei member will in
a lifetime of religious practice!
