Word: opus
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Although the stress it places upon full lay vocations within the church anticipated progressive thinking at the Second Vatican Council, Opus Dei nevertheless seems distressingly retrograde to its critics...
Among these are Catholic liberals and an outspoken band of disillusioned Opus dropouts. Some detractors refer to the secretive organization as "the Holy Mafia," or "Octopus Dei." One prominent seceder, Oxford Researcher John Roche, has collected 1,500 case histories of disenchanted Opus members that he hopes to present to John Paul this year. Says Roche: "He may see Opus Dei as a counterpoise to the left in the church, but I don't think he has any idea of what is going...
Perhaps because Opus members are typically reticent about their affiliation and many internal matters of the organization, the movement is constantly knocking down wild, unsubstantiated ru mors about its supposed immense wealth and power. Even within the Vatican, there is disagreement about Opus Dei, al though three top-ranking Cardinals are counted among its strong supporters. One veteran official in Rome says there is "a sharp division" at his congregation (a Vatican Cabinet ministry) between defenders of Opus Dei and doubters. He guesses the doubters are a slight majority...
Interviews with important bishops in several nations bespeak a wary hesitation to criticize Opus openly...
...events of the past three years have enhanced Opus' stature. In 1981, the Vatican took the first steps toward the canonization of Opus' founder, Spanish Monsignor Josemaria Escrivá de Balaguer, who died in 1975. Sainthood would vindicate the movement's creation under "divine inspiration," as the Pope has described it, since Escrivá's personality, words and works are the essence of Opus...