Opus Dei is a personal prelature within the Catholic Church that has been the subject of numerous controversies. Throughout its history, Opus Dei has been criticized by many, including by numerary members who knew the founder and had roles in Opus Dei's internal government. The reports by former members in the US, England, Spain, Ireland, Latin America, France, Germany, and other countries are published. Journalists have described it and its founder Josemaría Escrivá as "the most controversial force in the Catholic Church".
The canonization process of Escrivá has been described as unreliable. Controversies about Opus Dei have centered on allegations of secretiveness, but also on sexual abuse cases in Spain, Mexico, Uruguay, Chile, and the United States; cases that were investigated and resulted in canonical sanctions being applied to the perpetrators. Controversies have to do with recruiting methods aimed at teenagers becoming numeraries; the misleading of its lay faithful about their status and rights under Canon Law; the "mortification of the flesh" practiced by its celibate members (cilice, discipline, and sleeping on a board); elitism and misogyny; and support of authoritarian or right-wing governments, including the reactionary Franco regime.
According to former members of Opus Dei, the controversies about Opus Dei are rooted in practices institutionalized while Escrivá was alive and are written into internal documents and orally transmitted customs that have not been reviewed by Catholic Church officials. Some of the more famous former numeraries who have reported on these matters are: Maria del Carmen Tapia, secretary to Escrivá in Rome and commissioned by Escrivá to start the women's branch of Opus Dei in Venezuela; Vladimir Felzmann, a numerary priest; Miguel Fisac, who accompanied Escrivá across the Pyrenees during the Spanish Civil War and lived for years with him in Rome; Antonio Perez Tenessa, secretary general of Opus Dei and regional director of Opus Dei in Spain; and María Angustias Moreno.
Opus Dei has been criticized for allegedly seeking independence from and more influence within the Catholic Church. According to some journalists, criticisms against Opus Dei are based on jealousy or fabrications by opponents. Critics respond that some of these journalists are associated with Opus Dei, and that none of them interviewed numeraries who left Opus Dei in protest or examined internal governing documents. Defenders of Opus Dei point out that John Paul II and other Catholic leaders have endorsed Opus Dei's teaching on the sanctifying value of work, and its fidelity to Catholic beliefs.
Historical opposition from Jesuits
Josemaría Escrivá had a Jesuit priest as a spiritual director (Fr. Sánchez) at the time that he founded Opus Dei.E.g. As a result, he apparently based some of the practices of Opus Dei on the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, such as: required manifestation of conscience to a superior, seeking prestigious people for membership, a military-style hierarchical authority structure, and an emphasis on blind obedience as a means of efficiency in the apostolate.
Nevertheless, the superior general of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Wlodimir Ledóchowski (1866–1942), later told the Vatican he considered Opus Dei "very dangerous for the Church in Spain". He described it as having a "secretive character" and saw "signs in it of a covert inclination to dominate the world with a form of Christian Masonry". In the 1950s, some Jesuits told Italian parents of members of Opus Dei that their sons were being led to damnation.
Allegations like this from within well-regarded ecclesiastical circles ("the opposition by good people", as Escrivá called it) were interpreted by Escrivá as misunderstandings or jealousies, and defenders of Opus Dei today say that present-day criticisms are merely vestiges of this old prejudice. Specifically, they argue that criticism of Opus Dei by members of the Society of Jesus was caused by these Jesuits' not understanding the difference between Opus Dei and religious orders, and that this misunderstanding continues among people with a "clerical" or "religious" mentality. For Opus Dei officially describes itself in contrast to "religious" (monastic) life: ordinary lay Christians living out their baptismal call to holiness without being externally distinguished from other citizens.
Messori, a journalist associated with Opus Dei, also identifies political ideology as the root of some controversies involving some Jesuits. After Vatican II certain sectors of the Church became politically and theologically liberal, including Jesuits in Latin America who were experimenting with liberation theology. In contrast, some Opus Dei laymen had been working for the far-right Franco regime in Spain and similar regimes in Latin America. Escrivá himself gave a spiritual retreat to Franco, and the numerary priest and bishop Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne was reportedly friendly with Peru's president Fujimori and unsupportive of human rights advocates. Messori emphasizes, however, that Opus Dei has also had members from left-wing parties such as the UK Labour Party (see Opus Dei and politics).
Corporal mortification
Much public attention has focused on Opus Dei's encouragement of the practice of bodily mortification, especially due to news reports and after descriptions of the practice appeared in the popular novel The Da Vinci Code.
Opus Dei's celibate members (numeraries, numerary assistants, and associates) practice three forms of corporal mortification that were traditionally used in religious orders and by some laypeople in Catholic countries such as Spain. One of the more controversial forms of mortification is the use of a cilice, a small metal chain with inwardly pointing spikes that is worn around the upper thigh. The cilice's spikes cause pain and may leave small marks, but typically do not cause bleeding. Numeraries, associates, and numerary assistants are expected to wear a cilice for two hours each day except feast days. Another mortification is to whip themselves with a small "discipline" (a corded rope whip) for a few minutes once a week while saying a prayer, as a participation in Jesus' scourging. (Escrivá had special whips for himself with metal tips on the end; these caused bleeding.See the biography sanctioned by the prelature: Vazquez de Prada, The Founder of Opus Dei) Additionally, female numeraries only are required to sleep on a board instead of a mattress (or boards on top of mattress). Former female members have explained that Escrivá justified this rule by saying that since women numeraries give up having children (by celibacy, inter alia), they need this special mortification to keep them emotionally strong. Male numeraries are expected, instead, to sleep on the floor one night a week. Supernumeraries and associates, who do not live in Opus Dei centers (and hence might share a bed or a bedroom with family members), are instead expected or encouraged to sleep one night per week without a pillow.
Mortification ("dying to oneself") has had a long history within the Catholic Church (e.g. mediaeval religious often fasted on certain days while reciting particular prayers, etc.). Corporal mortification, of the type practiced by Opus Dei numeraries, however, is a rare practice for modern Catholics, and the Church itself does not tend to teach, encourage, or even condone such displays. Opus Dei points out that mortification of various types has been practiced by certain revered individual Catholics, including Mother Teresa, Óscar Romero and Padre Pio. Escrivá accused the secularised world of inconsistency in so far as it accepts physical pain and sacrifice in other domains—such as athletics, business, and for personal beautification—but objects to such acts when done for a religious purpose.
Allegations of aggressive recruiting
Opponents allege Opus Dei uses cult-like practices in recruitment. For instance, Jesuit priest and writer James Martin wrote that Opus Dei puts great emphasis on recruiting, and pointed to Escriva's writings which say "You must kill yourselves for proselytism."Opus Dei In the United States James Martin, S.J., America Press, February 25, 1995 David Clark, a consultant who specialises in helping people leave cults, stated in 2006 that Opus Dei used a cult-like recruitment technique called "love bombing", in which potential members are showered with flattery and admiration by members of the organization in order to entice them into joining. mirrored on ReligionNewsBlog.com The mother of a member studying at Harvard University stated that the group recruited and then separated her daughter from her family over several years; in 1991, the same mother founded the Opus Dei Awareness Network (ODAN), a group that aims to provide information and support to those harmed by Opus Dei while exposing the group's negative effects and practices.
Allegations of coercion
Critics accuse the organization of maintaining an extremely high degree of control over its members. Ex-members state that Opus Dei directors read letters of the members. According to a 2006 report by the BBC World Service, Jose Carlos Martin de la Hoz, priest of the prelature in Spain, said this practice existed in the past, but clarified it was a manifestation of opening and confidence of the faithfuls of the Opus Dei. In 2001, an Opus Dei spokesman said the practice of reading the mail of numeraries was abandoned years ago, since written letters are now rarely used for correspondence. As an additional means of guidance, it was deemed fitting for numeraries to first show to or tell the Directors about the contents of the letter, especially when the letter would need to touch on vocation.
About 20% of Opus Dei are celibate. They live in special residential centers where they lead extremely structured lives; critics say this practice isolates its members from the rest of society and allows Opus Dei to have nearly total control over its members' environments. For some books, a numerary's direct supervisor can provide permission, but for other books, permission can only be given by the prelate in Rome. According to some critics, Opus Dei pressures numeraries to cut off social contact with non-members, including their own families. Numeraries in Opus Dei generally hand over their entire salaries to the organization, and critics say this makes numeraries extremely dependent upon the organization.
A defence of Opus Dei's list of inappropriate books is found in recognition that the Vatican itself maintained a similar list until the 1960s. To explain the celibate lifestyle of numeraries and their relationships with their families, supporters quote Jesus's comment () that "He who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me."
Allegations of secrecy
Critics have often accused Opus Dei of intense secrecy. Due to its secrecy critics such as the Jesuit Wladimir Ledóchowski sometimes refer to Opus Dei as a "Catholic", "Christian", or "white" form of Freemasonry. Opus Dei does not publish membership lists, and members generally do not publicly reveal they are part of the organization. According to its 1950 constitution, members are forbidden to reveal their membership without the express permission of their superiors. This practice has led to rampant speculation about who may or may not be a member of Opus Dei. The 1950 constitution similarly prohibited even revealing how many people were members of Opus Dei.