Josemaria Escriva - Satanic Vatican - Decoding the Past TV - Josemaria Escriva - Father John Wauck - John Allen - Charles Shaw - Dennis Dumbro - Colleen O’Neill - Dianne DiNicola - Hans Kung - The Truth About Franco TV - The Secrets About Opus Dei 2021 -
Blessed be pain. Loved be pain. Sanctified be pain. Glorified by pain. Josemaria Escriva, The Way 308
Opus Dei: they took the darkest of Catholicism with a fascist political character. Satanic Vatican
Within the Catholic Church is a powerful group. Opus Dei ... Critics call it secretive and cult-like. Decoding the Past: Opus Dei, CBS 2006
It began in 1928 with a divine inspiration experienced by a devout Spanish priest. Following what he believed was God’s holy call Father Josemaria Escriva formed a new Catholic group. He would later name it Opus Dei, Latin for God’s work. ibid.
The Da Vinci Code also dramatically introduces the controversial ritual of corporal mortification. ibid.
Opus Dei has 87,000 members in 61 countries. Its membership is comprised mostly of lay people. ibid.
Escriva and Opus Dei have been repeatedly accused of supporting Franco’s fascists and repressive reign. ibid.
Later in 1939 Escriva published The Way, his book of 199 short passages known as Maxims. ibid.
But many of their practices invite suspicion and scepticism ... What separates Opus Dei members from other Catholic lay organisations is their rigorous daily routine. Members attend mass and receive communion daily. Prayer is constant. ibid.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Opus Dei is the practise of corporal mortification. Acts of self-denial or voluntary pain as penance, a kind of bodily sacrifice. ibid.
But it’s the more extreme forms of mortification practised by the numeries that draw the most scrutiny. ibid.
If you don’t get up at a set hour, you’ll never fulfil your plan in life. Josemaria Escriva, The Way 78
Unless you mortify yourself you’ll never be a prayerful soul. ibid. 172
War has a supernatural object ... But at last we must love it. ibid. 311
Be slow to reveal the intimate details of your apostolate. Don’t you see that the world in its selfishness will fail to understand? ibid. 643
There are many people, holy people, who don’t understand your way. Don’t strive to make them understand. It would be a waste of time and give rise to indiscretions. ibid. 650
Winning new apostles. It’s the unmistakable sign of true zeal. ibid. 793
Obedience, the sure way. Blind obedience to your superior, the way of sanctity. ibid. 941
It’s meant to be uncomfortable. That’s the point of it. Father John Wauck, Opus Dei member
They have a programme of life. A spiritual programme that they follow every day as Opus Dei members ... These people have chosen to live a fairly controlled and disciplined life of spiritual sacrifice. John Allen, author Opus Dei: An Objective Look
We were always being encouraged to get more members, make more friends. Charles Shaw, member 1991-1993
It was a fear of Hell that allowed me to stay for so long. Dennis Dumbro, Opus Dei member 1970-1987
When I joined Opus Dei I was told you can’t call your family and you can’t visit them. Colleen O’Neill, Opus Dei member 1985-2005
What I am doing is pointing out something I believe is like a cancer. They ruin people’s lives, and tear families apart. Dianne DiNicola, Opus Dei Awareness Network
Reactionary secret political and theological organisation from Franco’s Spain, which has been involved in scandals connected with banks, universities and governments ... which has features characteristic of the Middle Ages and counter-Reformation. Hans Kung, The Catholic Church: A Short History, 2002
In Spain, Opus Dei were especially powerful. The Truth About Franco: Spain’s Forgotten Dictator IV: The Leaden Age, BBC 2017
Opus Dei is among the most powerful organisations within the Catholic Church. The Secrets of Opus Dei: Faith, Power and Manipulation, DW/Top Documentaries 2021
‘Opus Dei benefited financially by siding with Franco.’ ibid.
In 1945 Opus Dei starts expanding from Spain … Today there are members from ninety countries. ibid.