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{{Short description|Institution of the Catholic Church}} {{Other uses}} {{pp-move-indef}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox organization|name=Opus Dei|image=The seal of Opus Dei.svg|size=175px|caption=[[Seal (emblem)|Seal]] of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei|map=|msize=|malt=|mcaption=|abbreviation=|formation={{Start date and years ago|df=yes|1928|10|02}}|extinction=|type=Personal prelature|status=|leader_title=Founder|leader_name=St. [[Josemaría Escrivá]]|purpose=Spreading the universal call to holiness in ordinary life|headquarters=Viale Bruno Buozzi, 73, 00197 [[Rome]], Italy|coords={{coord|41.9218|N|12.4841|E|region:IT_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}|region_served=Worldwide|membership=95,317 (2018){{Cn|date=November 2024}}|leader_title2=[[Prelate]]|leader_name2=[[Fernando Ocáriz Braña]]|main_organ=General Council<br />Central Advisory|parent_organization=[[Catholic Church]]|affiliations=|num_staff=|num_volunteers=|budget=|website=|remarks=}}

{{langnf|la|'''Opus Dei'''|Work of God|i=no}} is an institution of the [[Catholic Church]] that was founded in Spain in 1928 by [[Josemaría Escrivá]]. Its stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies. Opus Dei is officially recognized within the Catholic Church, although its status has evolved. It received final approval by the Catholic Church in 1950 by [[Pope Pius XII]].<ref name="Berglar 1994">{{Cite book|last=Berglar|first=Peter|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/ESCRIVA.ZIP|title=Opus Dei: Life and Work of Its Founder, Josemaria Escriva|publisher=Scepter Publishers, Inc.|year=1994|isbn=0-933932-64-2|location=Princeton, NJ|pages=189|language=en|translator-last=Browne|translator-first=Bernard|access-date=29 March 2008|translator-last2=Chessman|translator-first2=Stuart|translator-last3=Junge|translator-first3=John|translator-last4=Gottschalk|translator-first4=Mary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820043743/http://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/ESCRIVA.ZIP|archive-date=20 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Pope John Paul II]] made it a [[personal prelature]] in 1982 by the [[apostolic constitution]] ''Ut sit''.<ref name="Berglar 1994" />{{rp|1-9}} The group is considered [[Controversies about Opus Dei|controversial]] and has been criticised for having cult-like qualities.<ref>https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-10-06/manipulation-greed-and-power-the-untold-story-of-opus-dei.html</ref>

Laypeople make up the majority of its membership; the remainder are [[Secular clergy|secular priests]] under the governance of a [[prelate]] elected by specific members and appointed by the Pope.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Upon whom does the prelate of Opus Dei depend? Who appoints him?|url=https://opusdei.org/en/article/upon-whom-does-the-prelate-of-opus-dei-depend-who-appoints-him/|website=Opus Dei}}</ref> As ''Opus Dei'' is [[Ecclesiastical Latin|Latin]] for "Work of God", the organization is often referred to by members and supporters as "the Work".<ref>{{cite news|date=16 September 2005|title=Decoding secret world of Opus Dei|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4249444.stm|access-date=27 November 2006|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author=Bill Tammeus|date=19 October 2005|title=Bishop confirms connection to group|work=Kansas City Star}}</ref> Aside from their personal charity and social services, they organize training in [[Catholic spirituality]] applied to daily life. Opus Dei members are located in more than 90 countries.<ref name="Catholic News Agency">{{cite web|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/13955/opus-dei-to-produce-italian-cartoon-and-mini-series-on-st-josemaria-escriva|title=Opus Dei to produce Italian cartoon and mini-series on St. Josemaria Escriva|access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref> About 70% of members live in their own homes, leading family lives with secular careers,<ref name="BBC 2006">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/opusdei.shtml|work=BBC Religion and Ethics|title=Opus Dei|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/mar/24/terry-mattingly-da-vinci-code-mania-opened-opus-de/|work=Albuquerque Tribune|title='Da Vinci Code' mania opened up Opus Dei|author=Terry Mattingly|access-date=2 April 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929124534/http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/mar/24/terry-mattingly-da-vinci-code-mania-opened-opus-de/|archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref> while the other 30% are celibate, of whom the majority live in Opus Dei centers.

== History ==
{{For timeline}}
[[File:StjosemariaMagpakabanal_sa_gawain.jpg|right|frame|Escrivá surrounded by working people, in a [[Filipino people|Filipino]] painting entitled {{lang|fil|Magpakabanal sa Gawain}} or "Be holy through your work"]]

=== Foundational period ===
{{page numbers needed|section|date=September 2020}} {{primary sources|section|date=September 2020}} Opus Dei was founded by [[Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer]] on 2 October 1928 in Madrid, Spain. According to Escrivá, on that day he experienced a vision in which he "saw Opus Dei".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.josemariaescriva.info/index.php?id_cat=271&id_scat=270|work=JosemariaEscriva.info|title=Opus Dei|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/1409237/Vatican-proves-the-power-of-Opus-Dei-founder.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=Vatican proves the power of Opus Dei Founder|access-date=27 November 2006|location=London|first=Graeme|last=Archer|date=5 October 2002}}</ref> He gave the organization the name "Opus Dei", which in Latin means "Work of God",<ref name="Van Biema 2006">{{cite magazine|author=David Van Biema|title=The Ways of Opus Dei|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1184078,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519210025/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1184078,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 May 2006|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=19 April 2006|access-date=24 March 2007}}</ref> in order to underscore the belief that the organization was not his (Escrivá's) work, but was rather God's work.<ref name="Opus Dei 2006a">{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=4761|publisher=Opus Dei|title=Pope Benedict XVI on St. Josemaría Escrivá|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> Throughout his life, Escrivá held that the founding of Opus Dei had a supernatural character.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://opusdei.org/en/article/the-founding-of-opus-dei/|title=The Founding of Opus Dei|publisher=Opus Dei|date=10 April 2011|access-date=17 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.josemariaescriva.info/index.php?id_cat=218&id_scat=35|work=JosemariaEscriva.info|title=The Founding of Opus Dei|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> Escrivá summarized Opus Dei's mission as a way of helping ordinary Christians "to understand that their life&nbsp;... is a way of holiness and evangelization&nbsp;... And to those who grasp this ideal of holiness, the Work offers the spiritual assistance and training they need to put it into practice."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/conversations/point/60|title='Conversations' 60|first=Josemaría|last=Escrivá|access-date=16 May 2006}}</ref>

Initially, Opus Dei was open only to men, but in 1930, Escrivá started to admit women, based on what he believed to be a communication from God.<ref name="Berglar 1994" />{{rp|54}} Persecuted during the [[Spanish Civil War]] and narrowly escaping death several times, in 1939 Escrivá was able to return to Madrid after three years of hiding.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.josemariaescriva.info/index.php?id_cat=293&id_scat=270|work=JosemariaEscriva.info|title=Historical Overview|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> In 1939, Escrivá published ''[[The Way (Escrivá book)|The Way]]'', a collection of 999 maxims concerning spirituality for people involved in secular affairs.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Way|url=http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way|access-date=27 November 2006|work=EscrivaWorks.org}}</ref>

Opus Dei rapidly grew during the years of the [[Francoist Spain|Franquismo]], spreading first throughout Spain, and after 1945, expanding internationally.<ref name="Berglar 1994" />  Escrivá had to overcome many obstacles. He later recounted that it was in Spain where Opus Dei found "the greatest difficulties" because of "enemies of personal freedom", and traditionalists who he felt misunderstood Opus Dei's ideas.<ref>{{cite web|last=Escrivá|first=Josemaría|title=''Conversations'' 33|url=http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/conversations/point/33|access-date=30 May 2007}}</ref>

In 1947, a year after Escrivá moved the organization's headquarters to Rome, Opus Dei received a decree of praise and approval from Pope Pius XII, making it an institute of "pontifical right", i.e. under the direct governance of the Pope.<ref name="Berglar 1994" />{{rp|189}} In 1950, Pius XII granted definitive approval to Opus Dei, thereby allowing married people to join the organization, and secular clergy to be admitted to the [[Priestly Society of the Holy Cross]].<ref name="Berglar 1994" />{{rp|189}} Several Opus Dei members such as [[Alberto Ullastres]] were ministers under the dictator Franco in Spain ([[Opus Dei and politics]]).<ref name="Pilapil 1971">{{Cite journal|last=Pilapil|first=Vicente R.|year=1971|title=Opus Dei in Spain|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40394504|journal=The World Today|volume=27|issue=5|pages=211–221|jstor=40394504|issn=0043-9134}}</ref>

=== Post-foundational years ===
In 1975, Escrivá died and was succeeded by [[Álvaro del Portillo]]. In 1982, Opus Dei was made into a [[personal prelature]]. This means that Opus Dei is part of the Catholic Church, and the apostolate of the members falls under the direct jurisdiction of the prelate of Opus Dei wherever they are. As to "what the law lays down for all the ordinary faithful", the lay members of Opus Dei, being no different from other Catholics, "continue to be ... under the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop", in the words of John Paul II's Apostolic Constitution, ''Ut Sit''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_781530298/Opus_Dei.html|work=MSN Encarta|title=Opus Dei|access-date=27 November 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060508121557/http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_781530298/Opus_Dei.html|archive-date=8 May 2006}}</ref>

One-third of the world's bishops sent letters petitioning for the canonization of Escrivá.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=3720|publisher=Opus Dei|title=Blessed Josemaría Escrivá to be canonised|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> Escrivá was [[Beatification|beatified]] in 1992 in the midst of controversy prompted by questions about his suitability for sainthood. In 2002, approximately 300,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square on the day Pope John Paul II canonized him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives/101802/101802h.htm|work=National Catholic Reporter|title=300,000 pilgrims turn out for canonisation of Opus Dei founder|author=John L. Allen Jr|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.josemariaescriva.info/index.php?id_cat=42&id_scat=34|work=JosemariaEscriva.info|title=The Process of Canonization|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> There are other members whose process of beatification has been opened: [[Ernesto Cofiño]], a father of five children and a pioneer in pediatric research in Guatemala;<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 October 2020|title=Dr. Ernesto Cofiño|url=https://www.positionpapers.ie/2020/10/dr-ernesto-cofino/|access-date=27 July 2021|website=Position Papers|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Montserrat Grases]], a teenage Catalan student who died of cancer;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Montse Grases, a typical girl|url=http://www.synod.va/content/synod2018/en/youth-testimonies/montse-grases--a-typical-girl.html|access-date=27 July 2021|publisher=[[Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church|Synod of Bishops]]|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727042730/http://www.synod.va/content/synod2018/en/youth-testimonies/montse-grases--a-typical-girl.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=4 December 2020|title=A regular teenager who lived heroic virtue in a simple life: Meet Montse Grases|url=https://aleteia.org/2020/12/04/a-regular-teenager-who-lived-heroic-virtue-in-a-simple-life-meet-montse-grases/|access-date=27 July 2021|website=Aleteia|language=en}}</ref> [[Toni Zweifel]], a Swiss engineer;<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 July 2020|title=La storia. Toni Zweifel, ingegneria della santità|url=https://www.avvenire.it/chiesa/pagine/toni-zweifel-ingegneria-della-santit|access-date=27 July 2021|website=Avvenire|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Diocesan Phase of Toni Zweifel's Beatification Cause Concludes|url=https://opusdei.org/en-ph/article/diocesan-phase-of-toni-zweifel-s-beatification-cause-concludes/|access-date=27 July 2021|publisher=Opus Dei|language=en}}</ref> Tomás Alvira and wife, Paquita Domínguez, a Spanish married couple;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/15190/cardinal-rouco-opens-cause-of-canonization-for-spanish-couple|agency=Catholic News Agency|title=Cardinal Rouco opens cause of canonization for Spanish couple|access-date=4 March 2009}}</ref> [[Isidoro Zorzano Ledesma]], an Argentinian engineer;<ref name="Requena 2014">{{Cite journal|last=Requena|first=Federico M.|year=2014|title='We find our sanctity in the middle of the world': Father José Luis Múzquiz and the Beginnings of 'Opus Dei' in the United States, 1949–1961|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24584727|journal=U.S. Catholic Historian|volume=32|issue=3|pages=101–125|jstor=24584727|issn=0735-8318}}</ref> [[Dora del Hoyo]], a domestic worker;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.ph/art.php?p=49368|title=Dora del Hoyo's Cause of Canonization Opened in Rome|publisher=Opus Dei|access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref> Fr. José María Hernández Garnica;<ref name="Requena 2014" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Church studies the sanctity of Jose Maria Hernandez Garnica|url=https://en.romana.org/40/news/the-church-studies-the-sanctity-of-jose-maria-hern/|access-date=27 July 2021|website=Romana|publisher=Opus Dei|language=en}}</ref> and Father José Luis Múzquiz de Miguel, a Spanish priest who began Opus Dei in the United States.<ref name="Requena 2014" />

During the pontificate of John Paul II, two members of Opus Dei, [[Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne]] and [[Julián Herranz Casado]], were made [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinals]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=6908|publisher=Opus Dei|title=Cardinals Tauran and Herranz installed at their titular churches|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> In September 2005, [[Pope Benedict XVI]] blessed a newly installed statue of Josemaría Escrivá placed in an outside wall niche of St Peter's Basilica, a place for founders of Catholic organizations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cathnews.com/news/509/83.php|work=The Guardian|agency=Associated Press|via=Carbolic News|title=Pope blesses statue of Opus Dei founder|access-date=2 April 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211133234/http://www.cathnews.com/news/509/83.php|archive-date=11 February 2007}}</ref> During that same year, Opus Dei received attention due to the success of the novel ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]'', in which both Opus Dei and the Catholic Church itself work against the protagonists. The film version was released globally in May 2006, further polarizing views on the organization.<ref>{{Cite news|date=30 January 2023|title=What is Opus Dei, and why is it so controversial – both in and out of the Catholic Church?|language=en-AU|work=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-30/what-is-opus-dei-secretive-catholic-church-group-prelature/101905802|access-date=18 May 2023}}</ref>

In 2014, [[Pope Francis]] through a delegate beatified [[Álvaro del Portillo]] and said that "he teaches us that in the simplicity and ordinariness of our life we can find a sure path to holiness".<ref name="Zenit 2014">{{cite news|url=http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/don-alvaro-del-portillo-beatified-in-madrid|title=Don Alvaro del Portillo Beatified in Madrid|date=29 September 2014|website=Zenit|access-date=17 October 2024}}</ref> At the end of 2014, the prelature has spread to 69 countries,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.org/en-us/document/letter-from-the-prelate-10-december-2014/|title=Letter from the Prelate|date=10 December 2014|access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref> while its members are present in 90 countries.<ref name="Catholic News Agency" /> [[Javier Echevarría Rodríguez]], the second prelate of Opus Dei, died on 12 December 2016,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lainformacion.com/religion-y-credos/Javier-Echevarria-fallece-opus-dei_0_980303587.html|title=Fallece en Roma el prelado del Opus Dei, monseñor Javier Echevarría|date=12 December 2016|work=Lainformacion.es|language=es|access-date=12 December 2016|archive-date=12 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161212224557/http://www.lainformacion.com/religion-y-credos/Javier-Echevarria-fallece-opus-dei_0_980303587.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and was succeeded by [[Fernando Ocáriz Braña|Fernando Ocáriz]]. He was elected the new prelate of Opus Dei on 23 January 2017, and on the same day was appointed by Pope Francis as such.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Monsignor Ocariz confirmed as new prelate of Opus Dei|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/35290/monsignor-ocariz-confirmed-as-new-prelate-of-opus-dei|access-date=27 July 2021|agency=Catholic News Agency|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ocáriz elected as fourth prelate of Opus Dei, confirmed by Pope Francis|url=https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/6638/oc-riz-elected-as-fourth-prelate-of-opus-dei-confirmed-by-pope-francis|access-date=27 July 2021|website=The Tablet|language=en}}</ref>

In 2019, [[Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri Fernández de Heredia|Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri]], one of the first women who joined Opus Dei, was beatified in Madrid, Spain. She is the first woman of the group to be beatified.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Guadalupe Ortiz, the first woman member of Opus Dei to be beatified|url=https://www.thetablet.co.uk/blogs/1/1253/guadalupe-ortiz-the-first-woman-member-of-opus-dei-to-be-beatified-|access-date=27 July 2021|website=The Tablet|language=en}}</ref> Earlier in 2005, the first publicly-known [[sexual abuse]] case of Opus Dei in the US, against [[C. John McCloskey]], was settled for $977,000.<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 January 2019|title=Opus Dei settles sexual misconduct claim against prominent U.S. priest|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/opus-dei-settles-sexual-misconduct-claim-against-prominent-us-priest|access-date=16 June 2021|website=National Catholic Reporter|language=en}}</ref> Opus Dei publicly acknowledged a sexual abuse case within the organisation for the first time in its history in July 2020, this one involving priest Manuel Cociña in Spain.<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 July 2020|title=Opus Dei confirms one of its priests sentenced by Vatican for abuse|url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/07/opus-dei-confirms-one-of-its-priests-sentenced-by-vatican-for-abuse/|access-date=16 June 2021|website=Crux|language=en-CA}}</ref>

==== Pope Francis: "Safeguard the charism" ====
On 22 July 2022,<ref name="Mares 2022">{{Cite web|last=Mares|first=Courtney|date=22 July 2022|title=Pope Francis makes changes to Opus Dei in new decree|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251851/to-guard-the-charism-in-new-decree-pope-francis-makes-changes-to-opus-dei|access-date=22 July 2022|agency=Catholic News Agency|language=en}}</ref><ref name="De Carolis 2022">{{Cite web|last=De Carolis|first=Alessandro|date=22 July 2022|title=Motu Proprio on ''Opus Dei'' to protect charism and promote evangelization|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2022-07/pope-francis-motu-proprio-opus-dei.html|access-date=22 July 2022|website=Vatican News|language=en}}</ref> [[Pope Francis]] issued the [[Ecclesiastical letter#Letters of the popes in modern times|apostolic letter]] in the form of a {{lang|la|[[motu proprio]] Ad charisma tuendum}}, which seeks to "safeguard the charism", or original foundational spirit; it is "intended to confirm the Prelature of Opus Dei in the authentically charismatic sphere of the Church, specifying its organization in keeping with the witness of the Founder."<ref name="Press Office of the Holy See 2022">{{Cite web|title=Apostolic Letter issued 'Motu proprio' of the Supreme Pontiff Francis 'Ad charisma tuendum'|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/20220714-motu-proprio-ad-charisma-tuendum.html|access-date=24 October 2022|publisher=Press Office of the Holy See}}</ref> Among other things, the new disposition decrees that the head of the Opus Dei can no longer become a bishop, but "is granted, by reason of his office, the use of the title of Supernumerary Apostolic Protonotary with the title of Reverend Monsignor and therefore may use the insignia [including [[Ecclesiastical heraldry|heraldic devices]]] corresponding to this title".<ref name="Press Office of the Holy See 2022" /> It also transfers responsibility for the personal prelature ''Opus Dei'' from the [[Dicastery for Bishops]] to the [[Dicastery for the Clergy]],<ref name="Mares 2022" /><ref name="De Carolis 2022" /> conforming to the apostolic constitution ''[[Praedicate evangelium]]'', and mandates revision of the statutes of the personal prelature to bring them into [[conformity]] with these reforms. This reform became effective on 4 August 2022,<ref name="De Carolis 2022" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Motu Proprio 'Ad charisma tuendum': Questions and Answers|url=https://opusdei.org/en-us/article/motu-proprio-ad-charisma-tuendum-questions-and-answers/|access-date=24 July 2022|website=Opus Dei|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Press Office of the Holy See 2022" /> and Pope Francis explained that this action was carried out in consultation with canon lawyers of Opus Dei and had no negative connotation for he has very positive sentiments for Opus Dei.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zenit.org/2022/12/20/pope-francis-to-spanish-press-im-a-very-close-friend-of-the-opus-dei-i-love-them-a-lot-and-the-good-they-do-is-very-great/?eti=8006|title=Pope Francis to Spanish Press: 'I'm a Very Close Friend of the Opus Dei, I Love Them a Lot and the Good They Do Is Very Great'|date=19 December 2022}}</ref> On 8 August 2023, Pope Francis issued a new ''motu proprio'' which stated that personal prelatures such as Opus Dei, are "similar to public clerical associations of pontifical law",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-08/pope-francis-church-law-personal-prelatures.html|title=Pope modifies Church law on personal prelatures|website=Vatican News|date=8 August 2023}}</ref> such as the [[Community of Saint Martin]] and the [[Family of Mary]], while not being identified with them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://omnesmag.com/en/newsroom/what-has-changed-in-personal-prelatures/|title=What has changed in personal prelatures?|first=Maria José|last=Atienza|date=8 August 2023|website=Omnes}}</ref>

== Spirituality ==

=== Doctrine ===
{{Main|Teachings of Opus Dei}}
[[File:Mons._Ocariz.jpg|right|thumb|[[Fernando Ocariz]], present prelate of Opus Dei]]
Opus Dei places emphasis on certain aspects of Catholic doctrine. A central point of focus in Opus Dei's theology is the lives of the Catholic [[Laity|laypeople]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicity.com/mccloskey/popeandopusdei.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512145601/http://www.catholicity.com/mccloskey/popeandopusdei.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 May 2008|work=Crisis Magazine|author=Fr. John McCloskey|date=March 1995|title=The Pope and Opus Dei|access-date=27 November 2006}} ''mirrored on CatholiCity''</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=9319|work=Opus Dei Official Site|title=Opus Dei's focus on secular life|access-date=28 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nysun.com/article/30310?access=391277|work=The New York Sun|title='Da Vinci' And Opus Dei|access-date=27 November 2006|archive-date=28 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428092138/https://www.nysun.com/article/30310?access=391277|url-status=dead}}</ref> Opus Dei emphasizes the "[[universal call to holiness]]": the belief that everyone should aspire to be a saint, as per Jesus' commandment to "Love God with all your heart" (Matthew 22:37)<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|22:37|NRSV}}</ref> and "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|5:48|NRSV}}</ref> Opus Dei also teaches that sanctity is within the reach of everyone, given Jesus' teaching that his demands are "easy" and "light," as his divine assistance is assured.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|11:28–30|NRSV}}</ref><ref>Escrivá, J, ''Christ is Passing By'', n. 176; ''Friends of God'', n. 28.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5029154|publisher=NPR|title=A Glimpse Inside a Catholic 'Force': Opus Dei|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref>

Opus Dei does not have monks or nuns; only a minority of its members are priests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=19147|work=Catholic News Service|title=Opus Dei called 'complete opposite' of 'The Da Vinci Code' portrayal|access-date=27 November 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008233057/http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=19147|archive-date=8 October 2006}}</ref> Opus Dei emphasizes uniting spiritual life with professional, social, and family life. Members of Opus Dei lead ordinary lives, with traditional families and secular careers,<ref name="Opus Dei 2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=12224|work=Opus Dei website|title=Message of Opus Dei|access-date=11 March 2007}}</ref> and strive to "sanctify ordinary life". Pope John Paul II called Escrivá "the saint of ordinary life".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-05/2006-05-22-voa20.cfm?CFID=2829126&CFTOKEN=35170673|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20060629121920/http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-05/2006-05-22-voa20.cfm?CFID=2829126&CFTOKEN=35170673|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2006|work=JoseMaria.info|title=Decree of Canonization|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> Similarly, Opus Dei stresses the importance of work and professional competence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/furrow-chapter-15.htm|author=Josemaría Escrivá|work=Furrow|title=Chapter 15: "Work"|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/_saints/escriva/work_holiness.htm|work=Eternal Word Television Network|title=Josemaria Escrivá: Work and Holiness|access-date=27 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060512114142/http://www.ewtn.com/_saints/escriva/work_holiness.htm|archive-date=12 May 2006}}</ref> Opus Dei exhorts its members and all lay Catholics to "find God in daily life" and to perform their work as a service to society and as an offering to God.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paulrich.net/papers/opusdei.html|work=American Political Science Association|title=Opus Dei as a Political Force in Post Cold War Latin America: Civil Society, Associationalism, and Democracy|access-date=27 November 2006|archive-date=25 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225042825/http://www.paulrich.net/papers/opusdei.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Opus Dei teaches that work not only contributes to social progress but is a "path to holiness".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93084&page=1|work=ABC News|title=Interview with Opus Dei National Spokesman|access-date=11 January 2011}}</ref>

The biblical roots of this Catholic doctrine, according to the founder, are in the phrase "God created man to work" (Genesis 2:15)<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|2:15}}</ref> and [[Jesus]]' time as a carpenter in a small town.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/conversations-point-55.htm|author=Josemaría Escrivá|work=Conversations|title=What is the Attraction of Opus Dei|access-date=4 July 2007}}</ref> Escrivá also points to the gospel account that Jesus "has done everything well" (Mark 7:37).<ref>{{bibleverse|Mark|7:37}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/friends_of_god-point-56.htm|author=Josemaría Escrivá|work=Friends of God|title=Working for God|access-date=4 July 2007}}</ref> The foundation of the Christian life, as stressed by Escrivá, is ''[[divine filiation]]'': Christians are children of God, identified with Christ's life and mission. Other main ideals of Opus Dei, according to its official literature, are freedom, respecting choice, taking personal responsibility, charity, and love of God above all and love of others.<ref name="Opus Dei 2007" />

At the bottom of Escrivá's understanding of the "universal call to holiness" are two dimensions, subjective and objective, according to [[Fernando Ocariz]], a Catholic theologian and prelate of Opus Dei since 2017. The subjective is the call given to each person to become a saint, regardless of their place in society. The objective refers to what Escrivá calls [[Christian materialism]]: all of creation, even the most material situation, is a meeting place with God, and leads to union with him.<ref name="Allen 2005">{{Cite book|author=John Allen|title=Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church|year=2005|publisher=Doubleday Religion|isbn=0-385-51449-2|url=https://archive.org/details/opusdeiobjective00alle}}</ref>

=== Prayers ===
{{See also|Interior life (Catholic theology)}} All members – whether married or unmarried, priests or laypeople – are trained to follow a 'plan of life', or 'the norms of piety', which are traditional [[Catholic devotions]]. This is in order to follow the teaching of the Catholic Catechism: "pray at specific times...to nourish continual prayer".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p4s1c3.htm|work=Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 2697-8|title=The Life of Prayer|access-date=20 August 2007}}</ref>

=== Mortification ===
{{See also|Mortification of the flesh}} Public attention has focused on Opus Dei's practice of [[Mortification in Roman Catholic teaching|mortification]] of the flesh. Examples include fasting and remaining silent for certain hours during the day when this is compatible with family or professional duties. Mortification has a long history in many world religions, including the Catholic Church. Popes have endorsed it as a way of 'following Christ', who died of [[crucifixion]] and who, speaking of anybody that sought to be his disciple, said: "let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=7017|publisher=Opus Dei|title=The Da Vinci Code, the Catholic Church and Opus Dei|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref>

== Organization and activities ==
The Catholic News Agency website published on 26 August 2024, a report headlined "Opus Dei prelate responds to those who consider group 'conservative powerful and secretive.{{'"}} The prelate pointed out in the article; "the main contribution of Opus Dei is to accompany the laity [98% of its members] so that they can be protagonists of the evangelizing mission of the Church in the midst of the world, one by one."<ref>{{cite web|last=Silva|first=Walter Sánchez|title=Opus Dei prelate responds to those who consider group 'secretive'|website=Catholic News Agency|date=24 August 2024|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/258899/opus-dei-prelate-responds-to-those-who-consider-group-conservative-powerful-and-secretive|access-date=17 October 2024}}</ref>

=== Governance ===
{{Main|Personal prelature}} In Pope John Paul II's 1982 decree known as the [[Apostolic constitution]] ''Ut Sit'', Opus Dei was established as a personal prelature, an official structure of the [[Catholic Church]], similar to a [[diocese]] in that it contains lay people and secular priests led by a bishop. However, whereas a bishop normally has a territory or diocese, the prelate of Opus Dei is pastor to the members and priests of Opus Dei worldwide, no matter what diocese they are in. Opus Dei is the only personal prelature in existence.<ref name="Press Office of the Holy See 2022" /> In addition to being governed by ''Ut Sit'' and by the Catholic Church's general law, Opus Dei is governed by the church's Particular Law concerning Opus Dei, otherwise known as Opus Dei's statutes. This specifies the objectives and workings of the prelature. The prelature is under the [[Congregation for Bishops]].<ref name="Pope John Paul II 2006">{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CBISUTSI.HTM|author=Pope John Paul II|title=Apostolic Constitution ''Ut Sit'', Establishing Opus Dei as the first Personal Prelature of the Catholic Church|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=10877|work=Opus Dei Official Site|title=Place in the Church|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref>

Opus Dei's highest assembled bodies are the General Congresses, which are convened once every eight years. There are separate congresses for the men's and women's branches of Opus Dei. The General Congresses are made up of members appointed by the prelate and are responsible for advising him about the prelature's future. The men's General Congress also elects the prelate from a list of candidates chosen by their female counterparts.<ref name="82STATUTES">[http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=12491 Original Latin version] on Opus Dei Official Site</ref> After the death of a prelate, a special elective General Congress is convened. The women nominate their preferred candidates for the prelate and is voted upon by the men to become the next prelate—an appointment that must be confirmed by the Pope.<ref name="82STATUTES" />

The head of the Opus Dei prelature is known as the prelate.<ref name="Pope John Paul II 2006" /> The prelate is the primary governing authority and is assisted by two councils—the General Council (made up of men) and the Central Advisory (made up of women).<ref>{{cite web|title=What is Opus Dei – Governance|url=http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=13018|access-date=28 November 2006|work=Opus Dei Official Site}}</ref> The prelate holds his position for life. The current prelate of Opus Dei is [[Fernando Ocáriz Braña]], who became the third prelate of Opus Dei on 23 January 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Monsignor Ocariz confirmed as new Prelate of Opus Dei|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/35290/monsignor-ocariz-confirmed-as-new-prelate-of-opus-dei|access-date=24 January 2017|agency=Catholic News Agency}}</ref> The first prelate of Opus Dei was [[Álvaro del Portillo]], who held the position from 1982 until his death in 1994.<ref>{{cite web|title=Opus Dei|url=http://www.ideasrapidas.org/opusdeii.htm|access-date=27 November 2006|work=IdeasRapidas.org}}</ref>

=== Membership ===
{{As of|2018}}, the faithful of the Opus Dei Prelature numbered 95,318 members, of which 93,203 are lay persons, men and women, and 2,115 priests.{{Cn|date=November 2024}} These figures do not include the priest members of Opus Dei's [[Priestly Society of the Holy Cross]], estimated to number 2,000 in the year 2005.<ref name="Allen 2005" />{{page needed|date=September 2020}} About 60 percent of Opus Dei faithful reside in Europe, and 35 percent reside in the Americas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=26013|agency=[[Zenit News Agency]]|title=Opus Dei: Its Mission, Structure and Members|access-date=27 November 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613054142/http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=26013|archive-date=13 June 2006}}</ref> Women comprise 57% of the total membership.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/35260/this-is-the-process-for-opus-deis-election-of-a-new-prelate|title=This is the process for Opus Dei's election of a new prelate|agency=Catholic News Agency}}</ref> According to the study of John Allen, for the most part, Opus Dei faithful belong to the middle to low levels in society in terms of education, income, and social status.<ref name="Messori 1997">{{Cite book|author=Messori, Vittorio|url=https://archive.org/details/opusdeileadershi00mess|title=Opus Dei, Leadership and Vision in Today's Catholic Church|publisher=Regnery Publishing|year=1997|isbn=0-89526-450-1}}</ref>

Opus Dei is made up of several different types of faithful.<ref name="BBC 2006" /> According to the Statutes of Opus Dei,<ref>[http://opusdei.us/en-us/article/statutes-of-opus-dei/ Statutes of Opus Dei]; the editio typica of the Statutes is given in Latin on the Opus Dei webpage. An unofficial English translation is published on the [http://www.odan.org/statutes_1982.htm ODAN website]</ref> the distinction derives from the degree to which they make themselves available for the official activities of the Prelature and for giving formation according to the spirit of Opus Dei.<ref>Statutes of Opus Dei 2.7</ref> Supernumeraries, the largest type, currently account for about 70% of the total membership.<ref name="Grossman 2003">{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/12/07/catholics-scrutinize-enigmatic-opus-dei/|work=Chicago Tribune|title=Catholics scrutinise enigmatic Opus Dei|access-date=11 January 2011|first=Ron|last=Grossman|date=7 December 2003}}</ref> Typically, supernumeraries are married men and women with careers. Supernumeraries devote a portion of their day to prayer, in addition to attending regular meetings and taking part in activities such as retreats. Due to their career and family obligations, supernumeraries are not as available to the organization as the other types of faithful, but typically contribute financially and lend other types of assistance as their circumstances permit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://opusdei.org/en-ph/article/letter-from-the-prelate-28-october-2020/|title=Letter from the Prelate (28 October 2020)|website=Opus Dei}}</ref>

[[Types of membership of Opus Dei#numeraries|Numeraries]], the second largest type of the faithful of Opus Dei, comprise about 20% of the total membership.<ref name="Grossman 2003" /> "Numerary" is a general term for persons who form part of the permanent staff of an organization. In Opus Dei, numeraries are celibate members who give themselves in "full availability" ({{lang|la|plena disponibilitas}}) for the official undertakings of the Prelature.<ref>Statutes of Opus Dei 2.9</ref> A study comparing [[Scientology]] and Opus Dei found some similarities as well as strong differences.<ref name="Billing 2000">{{cite book|last1=Billing|first1=Werner|chapter=Zusammenfassung und Vergleich|date=2000|title=Opus Dei und Scientology: Die staats- und gesellschaftspolitischen Vorstellungen. Kollision oder Übereinstimmung mit dem Grundgesetz?|pages=147–148|editor-last=Billing|editor-first=Werner|chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-322-95152-6_4|access-date=28 August 2024|place=Wiesbaden|publisher=VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften|language=de|doi=10.1007/978-3-322-95152-6_4|isbn=978-3-322-95152-6|last2=Sauer|first2=Michael|editor2-last=Sauer|editor2-first=Michael}}</ref> This includes full availability for giving doctrinal and ascetical formation to other members, for staffing the internal government of Opus Dei if asked by the regional directors, and for moving to other countries to start or help with apostolic activities if asked by the prelate.<ref>Statutes of Opus Dei 2.8. See also [http://www.opusdei.org/en-us/article/members/ Christians in the Middle of the World]</ref> Numeraries are expected to live in [[Single-sex education|gender-specific]] centers run by Opus Dei,<ref>{{cite web|title=Conservative Catholic Influence in Europe|url=http://www.population-security.org/cffc-97-01.htm|access-date=27 November 2006|work=Center for Research on Population and Security}}</ref> and the question of which particular center a numerary will live in depends upon the regional needs.<ref>Statutes of Opus Dei 2.8</ref> It is considered very important for numeraries to participate in daily meals and "get-togethers" in which the sharing of news and conversation takes place.<ref>J. Allen, Opus Dei, Ch. 3</ref> Numeraries generally have jobs outside of Opus Dei, although some are asked to work internally full-time, and thus change their professional goals in order to be available for the Prelature. The majority of numerary income is contributed to the organization.<ref name="Martin 2009">{{cite web|url=http://www.americamagazine.org/content/articles/martin-opusdei.cfm|work=America: The National Catholic Weekly|title=Opus Dei in the United States|author=James Martin, S.J.|access-date=27 November 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116173841/http://www.americamagazine.org/content/articles/martin-opusdei.cfm|archive-date=16 January 2009}}</ref>

[[Types of membership of Opus Dei|Numerary assistants]] are a type of numerary that exists in the Women's Branch of Opus Dei. They are responsible for the "domestic tasks in the Centres of Opus Dei, which they willingly undertake as their professional work."<ref>Statutes of Opus Dei Chapter 2, Paragraph 9</ref> [[Types of membership of Opus Dei|Associates]] are celibate faithful who take on one or more apostolic assignment(s) from the Prelature in giving doctrinal and ascetical formation and/or coordinating activities.<ref name="Statutes of Opus Dei 2">Statutes of Opus Dei 2.10</ref> They differ from numeraries in not making themselves "fully" available to staff the official undertakings of the Prelature, instead giving themselves in additional social realities, such as through their profession or to their own families.<ref name="Martin 2009" /> Because of this difference in availability for the official activities of Opus Dei, unlike numeraries the associates do not live in Opus Dei centers but maintain their own abodes.<ref name="Statutes of Opus Dei 2" /> The [[Types of membership of Opus Dei|Clergy of the Opus Dei Prelature]] are priests who are under the jurisdiction of the prelate of Opus Dei. They are a minority in Opus Dei that makes up about 2% of Opus Dei members.<ref name="Grossman 2003" />

The [[Opus Dei: Priestly Society of the Holy Cross|Priestly Society of the Holy Cross]] consists of priests associated with Opus Dei. Part of the society is made up of the clergy of the Opus Dei prelature—priests who fall under the jurisdiction of the Opus Dei prelature are automatically members of the Priestly Society. Other members in the society are diocesan priests—clergymen who remain under the jurisdiction of a geographically defined diocese. These priests are considered full members of Opus Dei who are given its spiritual training. They do not, however, report to the Opus Dei prelate but to their own diocesan bishop.<ref name="Scepter 2003">{{Cite book|author1=Pedro Rodríguez|author2=Fernando Ocariz|author3=José Luis Illanes|title=Opus Dei in the Church|publisher=Scepter|year=2003|isbn=1-889334-93-6}}</ref> {{As of|2005}}, there were roughly two thousand of these priests.<ref name="Allen 2005" />{{page needed|date=September 2020}}

The [[Types of membership of Opus Dei|Cooperators of Opus Dei]] are non-members who collaborate in some way with Opus Dei—usually through praying, charitable contributions, or by providing some other assistance. Cooperators are not required to be celibate or to adhere to any other special requirements, and are not even required to be Christian.<ref name="Scepter 2003" /> There were 164,000 cooperators in the year 2005.<ref name="Allen 2005" />{{page needed|date=September 2020}} In accordance with Catholic theology, membership is granted when a [[vocation]] or divine calling is presumed to have occurred.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://opusdei.org/en-ph/article/joining-opus-dei/|title=Joining Opus Dei|website=Opus Dei}}</ref>

=== Activities ===
{{Main|Opus Dei in society}}
[[File:Universidad_de_navarra.JPG|right|thumb|250x250px|Central building of the [[University of Navarra]]]]
Leaders of Opus Dei describe the organization as a teaching entity whose main activity is to train Catholics to assume personal responsibility in sanctifying the secular world from within.<ref name="Van Biema 2006" /><ref>Escrivá said, "Opus Dei is a great catechesis." {{cite web|url=http://www.josemariaescriva.info/index.php?id_cat=229&id_scat=35&modeprint=active|work=JosemariaEscriva.info|title=Catechetical Trips|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> Others describe it as a [[cult]].<ref name="Moncada 2006">{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.icsahome.com/articles/opus-dei-moncada-en5-2|last=Moncada|first=Alberto|title=Opus Dei Over Time|magazine=ICSA e-Newsletter|volume=5|issue=2|year=2006|publisher=International Cultic Studies Association|access-date=1 January 2015|archive-date=16 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716081800/https://www.icsahome.com/articles/opus-dei-moncada-en5-2|url-status=dead}}</ref> This teaching is done by means of theory and practice.<ref>{{cite web|title=Opus Dei Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Status: Church Leaders Reflect on 1st Personal Prelature|url=http://www.zenit.org/article-22047?l=english|agency=Zenit News Agency|date=13 March 2008|access-date=20 March 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205140830/http://www.zenit.org/article-22047?l=english|archive-date=5 December 2008}}</ref>

Its lay people and priests organize seminars, workshops, retreats, and classes to help people put the Christian faith into practice in their daily lives. [[Spiritual direction]], one-on-one coaching with a more experienced lay person or priest, is considered the "paramount means" of training. Through these activities, they provide religious instruction (doctrinal formation), coaching in spirituality for lay people (spiritual formation), character and moral education (human formation), lessons in sanctifying one's work (professional formation), and know-how in evangelizing one's family and workplace (apostolic formation).

The official Catholic document, which established the prelature, states that Opus Dei strives "to put into practice the teaching of the universal call to sanctity, and to promote at all levels of society the sanctification of ordinary work, and by means of ordinary work."<ref name="Pope John Paul II 2006" /> Thus, the founder and his followers describe members of Opus Dei as resembling the members of the early Christian Church—ordinary workers who seriously sought holiness with nothing exterior to distinguish them from other citizens.<ref name="Van Biema 2006" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lukeraid.tripod.com/opusdei/id19.html|work=Opus Dei: A Dialogue Between Friend and Foe|title=St. Liguori et Als on vocation and Opus Dei|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.romana.org/?s=8.0&n=29&ID=1|work=Romana: The Official Bulletin of Opus Dei|title=The Example of the Early Christians in Blessed Josemaria's Teachings|last=Ramos-Lissón|first=Domingo|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref>

Opus Dei runs residential centers throughout the world. These centers provide residential housing for celibate members and provide doctrinal and theological education. Opus Dei is also responsible for a variety of non-profit institutions called "[[Opus Dei in society|Corporate Works of Opus Dei]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://opusdeisites.tripod.com/|title=Opus Dei Corporate Works|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> A study of the year 2005 showed that members have cooperated with other people in setting up a total of 608 social initiatives: schools and university residences (68%), technical or agricultural training centers (26%), universities, business schools, and hospitals (6%).<ref name="Allen 2005" /> The [[University of Navarra]] in Pamplona, Spain, and the Austral University in Buenos Aires, Argentina, are both examples of the corporate work of Opus Dei. These universities usually perform very high in international rankings. IESE, the University of Navarra's Business School, was adjudged one of the best in the world by the ''[[Financial Times]]'' and the ''[[Economist Intelligence Unit]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mba.eiu.com/index.asp?layout=view_article&eiu_article_id=1731266158|work=Economist Intelligence Unit: Which MBA|title=Top of the Class|access-date=5 July 2007}}</ref> The total assets of non-profits connected to Opus Dei are worth at least $2.8&nbsp;billion.<ref name="Newsday 2006">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-woopus0415,0,7378258.story?coll=ny-top-headlines|work=Newsday|title=Opus Dei has stake in new pope|access-date=27 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614194006/http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-woopus0415%2C0%2C7378258.story?coll=ny-top-headlines|archive-date=14 June 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Relations with Catholic leaders ==
{{Main|Opus Dei and Catholic Church leaders}}
[[File:JohannesPaul2-portrait.jpg|thumb|[[Pope John Paul II]]: Opus Dei was founded "led by divine inspiration".]]
Leopoldo Eijo y Garay, the bishop of Madrid, where Opus Dei was born, supported Opus Dei and defended it in the 1940s by saying that "this ''opus'' is truly ''Dei''" (this work is truly God's). Contrary to attacks of secrecy and heresy, the bishop described Opus Dei's founder as someone who was "open as a child" and "most obedient to the Church hierarchy".<ref>Vázquez de Prada, Andrés, ''The Founder of Opus Dei: The life of Josemaría Escrivá'', Volume 1: The early years, New York, 2000.</ref>

In the 1950s, Pope Pius XII told the most senior Australian bishop, Cardinal [[Norman Gilroy]], that Escrivá "is a true saint, a man sent by God for our times".<ref>Jose Manuel Cerda, [http://warrane.unsw.edu.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=81 "Like a bridge over troubled waters in Sydney: Warrane College and the student protests of 1970"], ''Studia et Documenta'' 4(2010) 147–181</ref> Pius XII gave Opus Dei the canonical status of "[[pontifical right]]", an institution depending directly and exclusively on the Vatican in its internal governance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://opusdeitoday.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=428|title=24 February 1947 – Granting of the 'decretum laudis'|website=Opus Dei today|access-date=11 December 2016}}{{dead link|date=January 2024|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> In 1960, [[Pope John XXIII]] commented that Opus Dei opens up "unsuspected horizons of [[wikt:apostolate|apostolate]]".<ref name="Opus Dei 2006b">{{cite web|title=Papal statements on Opus Dei|url=http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=12238|access-date=27 November 2006|publisher=Opus Dei}}</ref> Furthermore, in 1964, [[Pope Paul VI]] praised the organization in a handwritten letter to Escrivá, saying:<blockquote>Opus Dei is "a vigorous expression of the perennial youth of the Church, fully open to the demands of a modern apostolate&nbsp;... We look with paternal satisfaction on all that Opus Dei has achieved and is achieving for the kingdom of God, the desire of doing good that guides it, the burning love for the Church and its visible head that distinguishes it, and the ardent zeal for souls that impels it along the arduous and difficult paths of the apostolate of presence and witness in every sector of contemporary life."<ref name="Opus Dei 2006b" /></blockquote>The relationship between Paul VI and Opus Dei, according to Alberto Moncada, a doctor of sociology and ex-member, was "stormy".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.takingfive.com/ethics_opusdei.htm|work=TakingFive.com|author=Ruth Bertels|title=The Ethics of Opus Dei|access-date=27 November 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830191112/http://www.takingfive.com/ethics_opusdei.htm|archive-date=30 August 2006}}</ref> After the [[Second Vatican Council]] concluded in 1965, Pope Paul VI denied Opus Dei's petition to become a personal prelature, Moncada stated.<ref name="Moncada 2006" /> [[Pope John Paul I]], a few years before his election, wrote that Escrivá was more radical than other saints who taught about the [[universal call to holiness]]. While others emphasized monastic spirituality applied to lay people, Escrivá "it is the material work itself which must be turned into prayer and sanctity", thus providing a lay spirituality.<ref name="Luciani 2007">{{cite web|url=http://gabriel.mps.ohio-state.edu/od/opus.see|author-link=Pope John Paul I|first=Albino|last=Luciani|work=Opus Dei Files|title=Seeking God Through Everyday Work: A profile of the Founder of Opus Dei, Josemaria Escrivá|publisher=Ohio State University|access-date=3 April 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311125047/http://gabriel.mps.ohio-state.edu/od/opus.see|archive-date=11 March 2007}}</ref>

[[Controversies about Opus Dei|Criticisms against Opus Dei]] have prompted Catholic scholars and writers like [[Piers Paul Read]]<ref name="Read 2005">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3647365/You-can-trust-them-to-sell-you-a-car.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=You can trust them to sell you a car|access-date=17 October 2024|location=London|date=23 October 2005|first=Piers Paul|last=Read|author-link=Piers Paul Read}}</ref> and [[Vittorio Messori]] to call Opus Dei a [[sign of contradiction]], in reference to the biblical quote of Jesus as a "sign that is spoken against".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theuniversityconcourse.com/I,1,2-13-1996/Gordon.htm|work=The University Concourse|first=Richard|last=Gordon|title=What is Opus Dei, and what role does it play at Franciscan University?|access-date=27 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111112830/http://www.theuniversityconcourse.com/I%2C1%2C2-13-1996/Gordon.htm|archive-date=11 November 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[John Carmel Heenan]], Cardinal [[Archbishop of Westminster]], said: "One of the proofs of God's favor is to be a sign of contradiction. Almost all founders of societies in the Church have suffered. Monsignor Escrivá de Balaguer is no exception. Opus Dei has been attacked, and its motives misunderstood. In this country and elsewhere, an inquiry has always vindicated Opus Dei."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://horatio.uap.edu.ph/opusdei/opusdei_chapter2.html|work=University of Asia and the Pacific|first=William|last=O'Connor|title=Opus Dei: An Open Book|access-date=2 April 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719234319/http://horatio.uap.edu.ph/opusdei/opusdei_chapter2.html|archive-date=19 July 2012}}</ref>

One of Opus Dei's most prominent supporters was Pope [[John Paul II]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Opus_Dei|work=SourceWatch|title=Opus Dei|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> John Paul II cited Opus Dei's aim of sanctifying secular activities as a "great ideal". He emphasized that Escrivá's founding of Opus Dei was {{lang|la|ductus divina inspiratione}}, led by divine inspiration, and he granted the organization its status as a personal prelature.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CBISUTSI.HTM|author=[[Pope John Paul II]]|title=Ut Sit|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> Stating that Escrivá is "counted among the great witnesses of Christianity", John Paul II canonized him in 2002 and called him "the saint of ordinary life".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=14246|work=Opus Dei Official Site|title=St. Josemaría's Canonisation|access-date=27 November 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005002542/http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=14246|archive-date=5 October 2006}}</ref> Of the organization, John Paul II said:

{{quote|[Opus Dei] has as its aim the sanctification of one's life, while remaining within the world at one's place of work and profession: to live the Gospel in the world, while living immersed in the world, but in order to transform it, and to redeem it with one's personal love for Christ. This is truly a great ideal, which right from the beginning has anticipated the theology of the lay state of the [[Second Vatican Council]] and the post-conciliar period.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=9319 |publisher=Opus Dei |title=Opus Dei's focus on secular life |access-date=2006-11-27}}</ref>}}
[[File:Pope_Francis_Korea_Haemi_Castle_19_(cropped).jpg|thumb|Pope Francis: "St. Josemaria is a precursor of Vatican II in proposing the universal call to holiness"<ref name="Ricorda">{{cite news|url=http://www.opusdei.it/art.php?p=56109|title=Papa Francesco ricorda san Josemaría come 'precursore del Concilio Vaticano II'|language=it|publisher=Opus Dei|access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref>]]
Concerning the group's role in the Catholic Church, critics have argued that Opus Dei's unique status as a personal prelature gives it too much independence, making it essentially a "church within a church" and that Opus Dei exerts a disproportionately large influence within the Catholic Church itself,<ref name="Walsh 2004">{{Cite book|author=Michael Walsh|title=Opus Dei: An Investigation into the Powerful Secretive Society within the Catholic Church.|year=2004|publisher=Harper San Francisco|isbn=0-06-075068-5}}</ref> as illustrated, for example, by the rapid [[Josemaría Escrivá: Canonisation|canonization of Escrivá]], which some considered to be irregular (27 years).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0510.baumann.html|work=Washington Monthly|title=Let There Be Light: A look inside the hidden world of Opus Dei|first=Paul|last=Baumann|access-date=27 November 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829105702/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0510.baumann.html|archive-date=29 August 2006}}</ref> In contrast, Catholic officials say that church authorities have even greater control of Opus Dei now that its head is a prelate appointed by the Pope,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=20829|publisher=Opus Dei|author=Francesco Monterisi|title=The Personal Prelature: a Framework which Enriches the Communion of the Church|access-date=17 February 2007}}</ref> and its status as a prelature "precisely means dependence".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zenit.org/article-22167?l=english|agency=Zenit News Agency|first=Miriam|last=Díez i Bosch|title=Opus Dei Opens its Doors to Everyone: Interview With the Vicar General of the Personal Prelature|access-date=2 April 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412003434/http://www.zenit.org/article-22167?l=english|archive-date=12 April 2008}}</ref> Allen says that Escrivá's relatively quick canonization does not have anything to do with power but with improvements in procedures and John Paul II's decision to make Escrivá's sanctity and message known. The canonizations of John Paul II himself and [[Mother Teresa]] were much faster than Escrivá's.<ref name="Allen 2005" />

Pope [[Benedict XVI]] has been a particularly strong supporter of Opus Dei and of Escrivá. Pointing to the name "Work of God", Benedict XVI (then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) wrote that "The Lord simply made use of [Escrivá] who allowed God to work." Ratzinger cited Escrivá for correcting the mistaken idea that holiness is reserved for some extraordinary people who are completely different from ordinary sinners: Even if he can be very weak, with many mistakes in his life, a saint is nothing other than to speak with God as a friend speaks with a friend, allowing God to work, the Only One who can really make the world both good and happy.

Ratzinger spoke of Opus Dei's "surprising union of absolute fidelity to the Church's great tradition, to its faith, and unconditional openness to all the challenges of this world, whether in the academic world, in the field of work, or in matters of the economy, etc."<ref name="Opus Dei 2006a" /> He further explained:

{{quote|the theocentrism of Escrivá&nbsp;... means this confidence in the fact that God is working now and we ought only to put ourselves at his disposal&nbsp;... This, for me, is a message of greatest importance. It is a message that leads to overcoming what could be considered the great temptation of our times: the pretense that after the '[[Big Bang]]' God retired from history.<ref name="Opus Dei 2006a" />}}

[[Pope Francis]] is "the first Pope who has dealt with Opus Dei closely as a bishop",<ref name="Opus Dei 2016">{{cite news|url=http://opusdei.org.au/en-au/article/interview-with-mariano-fazio-2/|title=Interview with Vicar General of Opus Dei|newspaper=Opus dei|access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref> and, according to fellow [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] James V. Schall, is a "friend of Opus Dei".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/2095/the_pope_and_the_poor.aspx|title=The Pope and the Poor|website=Catholic World Report|access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref> Pope Francis himself said that "I am very close friend of the Opus Dei, I love them a lot."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zenit.org/2022/12/20/pope-francis-to-spanish-press-im-a-very-close-friend-of-the-opus-dei-i-love-them-a-lot-and-the-good-they-do-is-very-great/?eti=8006|title=Pope Francis to Spanish Press: 'I'm a Very Close Friend of the Opus Dei, I Love Them a Lot and the Good They Do Is Very Great'|date=19 December 2022}}</ref> Francis referred to St. Josemaria as "a precursor of Vatican II in proposing the universal call to holiness".<ref name="Ricorda" /> In the analysis of John Allen, Pope Francis' strong dislike for [[clericalism]], which he calls "one of the worst evils" in the church, is a key factor for "what Francis admires about Opus Dei since Escrivá's emphasis on the dignity of the laity was a challenge to the ultra-clerical ethos of Spanish Catholicism in the late 1920s."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2014/09/27/australian-cardinal-faces-the-vaticans-law-of-the-jungle/|title=Australian cardinal faces the Vatican's law of the jungle|website=Crux|date=27 September 2014|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-date=10 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510082345/http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2014/09/27/australian-cardinal-faces-the-vaticans-law-of-the-jungle/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He has a devotion to St. Josemaria,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.es/art.php?p=53061|title=Presentar a la Iglesia como grupos separados sería propio de una óptica carente de fe|access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref> and he prayed before his relics for 45 minutes when he once visited the church of the prelature in Rome.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.es.josemariaescriva.info/articulo/entrevista-javier-echevarria-el-papa-francisco-sentira-la-fuerza-y-compania-espiritual-de-benedicto|work=St. Josemaria|title=Javier Echevarría: 'El Papa Francisco sentirá la fuerza y la compañía espiritual de Benedicto XVI'|language=es|access-date=4 May 2013}}</ref> Francis beatified [[Alvaro del Portillo]], the successor of Escrivá.<ref name="Zenit 2014" /> Bergoglio said that what he most liked about Opus Dei was the work done for the poor by one of its schools in Buenos Aires.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.org.ar/art.php?p=52754|publisher=Opus Dei|title=La autenticidad del Papa Francisco nos ha cautivado|language=es|access-date=3 May 2013}}</ref> He thanked Opus Dei for its work to further the holiness of priests in the Roman Curia.<ref name="Opus Dei 2016" />

== Controversy ==
{{Main|Controversies about Opus Dei}}

Throughout its history, Opus Dei has been criticized from many quarters, prompting journalists to describe Opus Dei as "the most controversial force in the Catholic Church" and founder Josemaría Escrivá as a "polarizing" figure.<ref name="Allen 2005" /><ref name="Gledhill 2005">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/a-wholesome-reality-shines-beyond-the-dark-conspiracy-ks9tbr6l30l|title=A wholesome reality shines beyond the dark conspiracy|first=Ruth|last=Gledhill|access-date=17 October 2024|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|date=8 October 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Feb2006/books.asp|work=American Catholic|author=Brennan Hill|title=Who Stood For and Against Hitler?|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref> Criticism of Opus Dei has centered on allegations of secretiveness,<ref name="Van Biema 2006" /> controversial and aggressive [[Apostolate|recruiting methods]], strict rules governing members, elitism and [[misogyny]],<ref>"Needless to say, Opus Dei sees women as mothers or housewives, and at university boys were given preferential treatment – in my year, a group of male students went on a trip to meet newspaper editors in the US; women were barred, on the pretext that it was organised by one of the Opus Dei male-only clubs."{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/30/opus-dei|title=The truth about Opus Dei|work=The Guardian|first=Elena|last=Moya|date=30 May 2010}}</ref> and support of or participation in authoritarian or right-wing governments, including [[Spain under Franco|Francisco Franco's regime]], which governed Spain until 1975.<ref name="Moncada 2006" /> The [[mortification of the flesh]] practiced by some of its members is also criticized. Opus Dei has also been criticized for allegedly seeking independence and more influence within the Catholic Church;<ref name="Walsh 2004" /> however, according to some journalists who have researched Opus Dei separately, many criticisms against Opus Dei are based on fabrications by opponents.<ref name="Allen 2005" /><ref name="Whitehouse 2006">{{Cite book|title=Opus Dei: The Truth Behind the Myth|first=Maggy|last=Whitehouse|publisher=Hermes House|year=2006|isbn=0-681-35584-0}}</ref><ref name="Gledhill 2005" /><ref name="Messori 1997" /><ref name="de Plunkett 2007">{{cite web|first=Patrice|last=de Plunkett|title=Entretien avec l'auteur de L'Opus Dei – Enquête sur le 'monstre'|url=http://www.zenit.org/article-12784?l=french|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930210339/http://www.zenit.org/article-12784?l=french|archive-date=30 September 2007|access-date=20 June 2007|agency=[[Zenit News Agency]]|language=fr}}</ref>

In the 21st century, Opus Dei has received international attention due to the novel ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]'' and its [[The Da Vinci Code (film)|film version of 2006]], both of which prominent Christians and others criticized as misleading, [[Inaccuracies in The Da Vinci Code#Opus Dei|inaccurate]] and [[Anti-Catholicism|anti-Catholic]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code|first1=Carl|last1=Olson|first2=Sandra|last2=Miesel|name-list-style=amp|publisher=Ignatius Press|isbn=978-1-58617-034-9|date=January 2004}}</ref><ref name="Miller 2004">{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Laura|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E0DD103AF931A15751C0A9629C8B63|title=THE LAST WORD; The Da Vinci Con|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 February 2004|access-date=3 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=First Things|title=Dechristianizing America|first=Richard John|last=Neuhaus|date=June 2006|url=http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=5314&var_recherche=Da+Vinci+Code}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code: A Challenging Response to the Bestselling Novel|first=Richard|last=Abanes|publisher=Harvest House|isbn=0-7369-1439-0|url=https://archive.org/details/truthbehinddav00aban|year=2004}}</ref> Critics such as the Jesuit [[Wlodimir Ledóchowski]] refer to Opus Dei as a Catholic, Christian, or White form of [[Freemasonry]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/t/tapia-threshold.html|title=Beyond the Threshold|work=The New York Times|access-date=30 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The triumph of democracy in Spain|last=Preston|first=Paul|date=1986|publisher=Methuen|isbn=978-0-416-90010-1|location=London|pages=28|oclc=14586560}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Secret societies|last=Harding|first=Nick|date=2005|publisher=Chartwell|isbn=978-0-7858-2170-0|location=Edison, New Jersey|pages=107|oclc=78244509}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hesse|first=Alexander|title=Geheimbünde Freimaurer und Illuminaten, Opus Dei und Schwarze Hand|publisher=Rowohlt Taschenbuch|location=Reinbek|page=54|isbn=978-3-499-63049-1|date=2015|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Augias|first=Corrado|author-link=Corrado Augias|title=Die Geheimnisse des Vatikan: Eine andere Geschichte der Papststadt|edition=1st new|publisher=C. H. Beck|location=Munich|page=415|isbn=978-3-406-63092-7|date=2012|language=de}}</ref> Critics of Opus Dei include María del Carmen Tapia, an ex-member who was a high-ranking officer of Opus Dei for many years;<ref>{{Cite book|first=María|last=del Carmen Tapia|title=Beyond the Threshold: A Life in Opus Dei|publisher=Continuum|year=1997|isbn=0-8264-1096-0|url=https://archive.org/details/beyondthresholdl00tapi}}</ref> [[Liberal Catholicism|liberal Catholic]] theologians such as [[James Martin (Jesuit writer)|James Martin]], a [[Jesuit]] writer and editor; and supporters of [[liberation theology]], such as journalist [[Penny Lernoux]] and Michael Walsh, a writer on religious matters and former Jesuit.<ref name="Grossman 2003" /><ref>{{Cite news|newspaper=Financial Times|location=London|first=Leslie|last=Crawford|title=Opus Dei's influence promotes a sainthood|date=6 October 2002}}</ref> Critics state that Opus Dei is "intensely secretive." However, members make their affiliations public and, in fact, host activities for all ages.<ref name="Van Biema 2006" /> This practice has led to much speculation about who may be a member.<ref name="Van Biema 2006" /> Due in part to its secrecy, the Jesuit-run magazine ''[[America (magazine)|America]]'' referred to it as "the most controversial group in the Catholic Church today".<ref name="Martin 1995">{{cite magazine|last=Martin|first=James|date=25 February 1995|url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2012/12/13/opus-dei-united-states-february-25-1995|title=Opus Dei in the United States|magazine=[[America Magazine]]|access-date=22 December 2017}}</ref>

Opus Dei has been accused of deceptive and aggressive recruitment practices,<ref name="Martin 1995" /> such as showering potential members with intense praise ("[[love bombing]]"),<ref name="Karloff 2006">{{cite web|url=http://www.religionnewsblog.com/14640/opus-dei-members-da-vinci-distorted|work=Daily Record|title=Opus Dei members: 'Da Vinci' distorted|first=Abbott|last=Karloff|date=14 May 2006|access-date=27 November 2006|via=Religion News Blog}}</ref>{{unreliable source|reason=Blog. The original Daily Record article is reliable so why not cite that instead?|date=December 2023}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=347479|title=Opening the doors of Opus Dei: Part 2|first=Elizabeth W.|last=Green|work=The Harvard Crimson|date=10 April 2003|access-date=17 April 2020|archive-date=16 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016203206/http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=347479|url-status=dead}}</ref> and instructing numeraries to form friendships and attend social gatherings explicitly for recruiting purposes.<ref name="Martin 2009" /> Critics allege that Opus Dei maintains an extremely high degree of control over its members—for instance, past rules required numeraries to submit their incoming and outgoing mail to their superiors for inspection, and members are forbidden to read certain books without permission from their superiors.<ref name="Karloff 2006" /> Critics charge that Opus Dei pressures numeraries to sever contact with non-members, including their own families.<ref name="Karloff 2006" /> Exit counselor David Clark has described Opus Dei as "very cult-like".<ref name="Karloff 2006" /> Opus Dei was investigated as a [[cult]] by the [[Belgium|Belgian]] government after an investigation, and some aspects were found to be cult-like.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Het Belgische sektenrapport|url=https://skepsis.nl/sektenrapport/|access-date=28 August 2024|website=Stichting Skepsis|language=nl-NL}}</ref> The organisation has parallels with,{{Which|date=September 2024}} but also very strong differences to, [[Scientology]].<ref name="Billing 2000" />

Critics assert that Escrivá and the organization supported radical right-wing governments, such as those of Franco, [[Augusto Pinochet]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://elpais.com/diario/1999/02/21/internacional/919551606_850215.html|title=La mediación del Vaticano en favor de Pinochet se gestó en la sede del Opus dei en Roma|language=es|newspaper=El País|date=20 February 1999|access-date=31 December 2018|last1=Ekaizer|first1=Ernesto}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.elclarin.cl/web/opinion/politica/18350-el-opus-dei-y-su-opcion-preferencial-por-los-ricos-al-servicio-de-la-economia-neoliberal-en-chile.html|title=El Opus Dei y su 'opción preferencial por los ricos' al servicio de la economía neoliberal en Chile|trans-title=Opus Dei and its 'preferential option for the rich' at the service of the neoliberal economy in Chile|date=2 March 2016|first=Fabián Bustamante|last=Olguín|newspaper=El Clarín|language=es|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508001256/http://www.elclarin.cl:80/web/opinion/politica/18350-el-opus-dei-y-su-opcion-preferencial-por-los-ricos-al-servicio-de-la-economia-neoliberal-en-chile.html|archive-date=8 May 2016|access-date=31 December 2018}}</ref> and [[Alberto Fujimori]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://elpais.com/diario/2000/08/28/opinion/967413606_850215.html|title=El arzobispo Cipriani, 'teólogo de Fujimori'|language=es|newspaper=El País|date=27 August 2000|access-date=31 December 2018|last1=Tamayo|first1=Juan José}}</ref> of Peru during the 1990s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Allen|first=John Jr.|title=Opus Dei, The Truth about its Rituals, Secrets and Power|year=2005|publisher=Penguin|isbn=0-14-102465-8|pages=287–290}}</ref> Both Pinochet's and Fujimori's ministries and prominent supporters allegedly included members of Opus Dei, but there are also prominent Opus Dei members in parties that opposed those governments. Likewise, among Opus Dei members, there were also strong detractors of Franco, such as [[Antonio Fontán]]. There have also been allegations that Escrivá expressed sympathy for [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/1992/04/14/sain.php|work=International Herald Tribune|first=Barry|last=James|title=Rocky Road to Sainthood for a 'Choleric' Cleric|date=14 April 1992|access-date=28 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070410185512/http://www.iht.com/articles/1992/04/14/sain.php|archive-date=10 April 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=Chicago Tribune|title=Catholics scrutinize enigmatic, strict Opus Dei|first=Ron|last=Grossman|date=6 December 2003}}</ref> One former Opus Dei priest, Vladimir Felzmann, who has become a vocal Opus Dei critic, says that Escrivá once remarked that Hitler had been "badly treated" by the world and he further declared that "Hitler couldn't have been such a bad person. He couldn't have killed six million [Jews]. It couldn't have been more than four million."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/01/18/bbdavi16.xml&sSheet=/arts/2005/01/18/ixartleft.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051025070253/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/01/18/bbdavi16.xml&sSheet=/arts/2005/01/18/ixartleft.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 October 2005|first=Damian|last=Thompson|date=18 January 2005|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=A creepy scrape with the Da Vinci Code set|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Newsweek|author-link=Kenneth L. Woodward|first=Kenneth L.|last=Woodward|date=13 January 1992|title=Opus Dei Prepares to Stand By Its Man}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Their Kingdom Come: Inside the Secret World of Opus Dei|first=Robert|last=Hutchinson|publisher=Thomas Dunne|year=1999|isbn=0-312-19344-0|page=15}}</ref> Opus Dei has also been accused of [[elitism]] through targeting of "the intellectual elite, the well-to-do, and the socially prominent".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/reviews/beyondthethreshold.htm|first=Paul|last=Baumann|date=10 August 1997|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=The Way of the Faithful}}</ref>

As members of Opus Dei are Catholics, Opus Dei has been subjected to the same criticisms targeted to Catholicism in general. For example, Opus Dei's position has been "to oppose sexual freedoms and promote conservative morals," according to an investigative report produced by [[Catholics for Choice]], a group that dissents from many church teachings, notably abortion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/oppositionwatch/documents/OpusDeiinLatinAmerica.pdf|title=A Primer on Opus Dei in Latin America|publisher=Catholics for Choice|year=2011|access-date=23 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531231642/http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/oppositionwatch/documents/OpusDeiinLatinAmerica.pdf|archive-date=31 May 2013}}</ref> The report further cites a study from sociologist Marco Burgos alleging Opus Dei interference in sex education programs in Honduras that contradict the Catholic faith.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/652527.html|title=Culpan a Opus Dei por golpe en Honduras|language=es|date=18 January 2010|work=El Universal|access-date=23 October 2012|archive-date=12 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412133712/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/652527.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Between 1950 and 1980, as many as 300,000 illegal adoptions occurred in Spain in a scandal known as the [[lost children of Francoism]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Adler|first=Katya|date=18 October 2011|title=Spain's stolen babies and the families who lived a lie|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15335899}}</ref> Many Catholic clergy and religious sisters at church-sponsored hospitals or other charitable organizations in Spain are alleged to have been involved, including members of Opus Dei.<ref>{{Cite web|date=7 March 2011|title=On the trail of Spain's stolen children|url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2011/03/07/inenglish/1299478844_850210.html|access-date=16 June 2021|website=El País|language=en}}</ref> The Opus Dei organisation has been described as a "Holy Mafia" or "Santa Mafia" in the 1970s due to alleged "inscrutable business practices".<ref name="Pilapil 1971" /><ref>{{Cite news|first=Peter|last=Hertel|title=Vatikan intern: Der Aufstieg der Santa Mafia|url=https://www.spiegel.de/spiegelspecial/a-350114.html|access-date=16 June 2021|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=7 April 2005|language=de}}</ref> After conducting a critical study of Opus Dei, Catholic journalist John L. Allen Jr. concluded that Opus Dei should (1) be more transparent, (2) collaborate with members of [[Religious institute|religious institutes]], and (3) encourage its members to air out in public their criticisms of the institution.<ref name="Allen 2005" /> An article published by the ''[[Financial Times]]'' in March 2024 accused Opus Dei of practices akin to modern slavery.<ref name="FT 2024">{{Cite web|date=16 March 2024|title=The Opus Dei diaries|url=https://www.ft.com/content/53bbc8a8-1c5b-4c6e-8d50-8b7c00ffa5f8|access-date=17 March 2024|website=Financial Times|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The piece draws on testimony from 16 women who served as numerary assistants over several decades in several countries. They report having been "coerced into domestic servitude&nbsp;... through a rigid system of psychological control".<ref name="FT 2024" />

=== Supporting views ===
According to several journalists who have worked independently on Opus Dei, such as [[John L. Allen Jr.]],<ref name="Allen 2005" /> [[Vittorio Messori]],<ref name="Messori 1997" /> [[Patrice de Plunkett]],<ref name="de Plunkett 2007" /> [[Maggy Whitehouse]],<ref name="Whitehouse 2006" /> and [[List of children of clergy|Noam Friedlander]],<ref name="Gledhill 2005" /> many of the criticisms against Opus Dei are myths and unproven tales. Allen, Messori, and Plunkett say that most of these myths were created by its opponents, with Allen adding that he perceives that Opus Dei members generally practice what they preach.<ref>{{cite web|title=Unveiling Opus Dei: Interview with John L. Allen|url=http://oldarchive.godspy.com/reviews/Opus-Dei-An-Interview-with-John-Allen-by-John-Romanowsky.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713161854/http://oldarchive.godspy.com/reviews/Opus-Dei-An-Interview-with-John-Allen-by-John-Romanowsky.cfm|archive-date=13 July 2012|access-date=23 February 2008|work=Gospy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Interview with John Allen|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week937/interview1.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103061635/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week937/interview1.html|archive-date=3 January 2007|access-date=27 November 2006|work=PBS:Religion&Ethics}}</ref>
[[File:Opusdeicentralhqrome.jpg|right|thumb|Opus Dei central headquarters in Rome]]
Allen, Messori, and Plunkett also state that accusations that Opus Dei is secretive are unfounded. These accusations stem from a [[Clericalism|clerical paradigm]] which expects Opus Dei members to behave as monks and clerics, traditionally known and externally identifiable as seekers of holiness. In contrast, these journalists continue, Opus Dei's lay members, like any normal Catholic professional, are ultimately responsible for their personal actions and do not externally represent the organization that provides them religious education.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}} Writer and broadcast analyst [[John L. Allen Jr.]] states that Opus Dei provides abundant information about itself. These journalists have noted that the historic roots of criticisms against Opus Dei can be found in influential clerical circles.<ref name="Messori 1997" /><ref>{{cite web|first=Edward|last=Pentin|title=Profiles: John Allen|url=http://www.theamericanmag.com/article.php?show_issue_id=24&show_article_id=320|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016203316/http://theamericanmag.com/article.php?show_issue_id=24&show_article_id=320|archive-date=16 October 2007|access-date=27 November 2006|work=The American}}</ref>

As to its alleged participation in right-wing politics, especially the Francoist regime, British historians [[Paul Preston]] and [[Brian Crozier]] state that the Opus Dei members who were Franco's ministers were appointed for their talent and not for their Opus Dei membership.<ref name="Preston 1993">{{Cite book|first=Paul|last=Preston|title=Franco. A Biography|publisher=HarperCollins|year=1993|isbn=0-00-215863-9}}</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2020}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Crozier|first=Brian|title=Franco: A Biographical History|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|year=1967}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|quote=[The technocrats] were appointed to high office not because of what they were [i.e. Opus Dei members] but because of what they wanted to do.|first=Jose|last=Casanova|url=http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/publications/the-opus-dei-ethic-the-technocrats-and-the-modernization-of-spain|title=The Opus Dei Ethic, the Technocrats and the Modernization of Spain|date=1 February 1983|journal=Social Science Information|volume=22|issue=1|page=46|doi=10.1177/053901883022001002}}</ref> Also, there were notable members of Opus Dei who were vocal critics of the Franco regime such as [[Rafael Calvo Serer]] and [[Antonio Fontán]], who was the first [[President of the Spanish Senate|president]] of the [[Senate of Spain|Senate]] in Spain, following the adoption of a democratic [[Constitution of Spain|constitution]]. The German historian and Opus Dei member [[Peter Berglar]] calls any connection made between Opus Dei and Franco's regime a "gross slander".<ref name="Berglar 1994" /> At the end of Franco's regime, Opus Dei members were 50:50 for and against Franco, according to John Allen.<ref name="Allen 2005" />{{page needed|date=September 2020}} Similarly [[Álvaro del Portillo]], the former prelate of Opus Dei, said that any statements that Escrivá supported Hitler were "a patent falsehood" that were part of "a slanderous campaign".<ref>{{Cite book|last1=del Portillo|first1=Álvaro|title=Immersed in God: Blessed Josemaria Escrivá, Founder of Opus Dei As Seen by His Successor, Bishop Álvaro del Portillo|first2=Cesare|last2=Cavalleri|publisher=Scepter|year=1996|isbn=0-933932-85-5}}</ref> He and others have stated that Escrivá condemned Hitler as a "rogue", a "racist" and a "tyrant".<ref>See {{cite web|last=Urbano|first=Pilar|author-link=Pilar Urbano|year=1995|title=El hombre de Villa Tevere|url=http://www.pontealdia.net/criticas/nazismo.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210145836/http://www.pontealdia.net/criticas/nazismo.htm|archive-date=10 December 2006|access-date=28 January 2007}}</ref> Opus Dei spokespersons also deny claims that Opus Dei members worked with General Pinochet.<ref name="Gledhill 2005" /> Various authors and researchers state that Escrivá was staunchly non-political, and detested dictatorships.<ref name="Messori 1997" /><ref>{{cite book|first=Julian|last=Herranz|title=En las afueras de Jericó: recuerdos de los años con san Josemaría y Juan Pablo II|publisher=Rialp|year=2008}}</ref> Allen wrote that, compared with other Catholic organizations, Opus Dei's stress on freedom and personal responsibility is extraordinarily strong.<ref name="Allen 2005" /> There are many Opus Dei members who are identified with center or left-wing politics, including [[Ruth Kelly]], [[Jorge Rossi Chavarría]], [[Mario Fernández Baeza]], [[Mario Maiolo]], and [[Jesus Estanislao]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Swan|first=Michael|date=15 September 2008|title=Opus Dei welcomes left-wingers, too|url=https://www.catholicregister.org/item/8201-opus-dei-welcomes-left-wingers-too|access-date=19 June 2022|work=Catholic Register}}</ref>

While Opus Dei spokespersons have admitted mistakes in dealing with some members and do not, as a rule, contest their grievances,<ref name="Newsday 2006" /><ref>{{cite news|last1=Silver|first1=Vernon|last2=Smith|first2=Michael|name-list-style=amp|title=The Business of Opus Dei|url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/weekend_news_detail.asp?pp_cat=31&art_id=17588&sid=7680826&con_type=3&d_str=20060429|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215151146/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/weekend_news_detail.asp?pp_cat=31&art_id=17588&sid=7680826&con_type=3&d_str=20060429|archive-date=15 February 2009|access-date=2 December 2007|work=The Standard|location=Hong Kong|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.}}</ref> supporters have rejected generalizations merely based on negative experiences of some members.<ref>{{cite web|last=Schonborn|first=Christoph|title=Are there sects in the Catholic Church?|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHRIST/ORSECTS.HTM|access-date=27 November 2006|work=Eternal Word Television Network}}, Matthew 10:37</ref> John Allen concluded that Opus Dei is not "elitist" in the sense in which people often invoke the term, meaning an exclusively white-collar phenomenon. He observed that among its members are barbers, bricklayers, mechanics, and fruit sellers. Most supernumeraries are living ordinary middle-class lives, he said.<ref name="Allen 2005" />{{page needed|date=September 2020}} Regarding alleged [[misogyny]], John Allen states that women hold half of the leadership positions in Opus Dei, and they supervise men.<ref>{{cite news|last=Baird|first=Julia|date=18 May 2006|title=Tall tale ignites an overdue debate|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/tall-tale-ignites-an-overdue-debate/2006/05/17/1147545387121.html?page=2|access-date=4 April 2007|work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> As regards the claim that religious people in Spain, including Opus Dei members, were involved in the [[Lost children of Francoism|abduction of children during the Franco era]], an investigation found that DNA analysis of 81 cases ruled out that they were stolen babies.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ansede|first1=Manuel|date=20 October 2018|title=El análisis del ADN de 81 casos descarta que fueran bebés robados|url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/09/27/ciencia/1538058145_715458.html|newspaper=El País|language=es}}</ref> The supreme court of Spain did not consider the first case of stolen babies to be proven,<ref>{{cite web|title=El Supremo no considera probado el primer caso que analiza de bebés robados|first=Reyes|last=Rincón|date=11 June 2020|url=https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-06-11/el-supremo-no-considera-probada-la-detencion-ilegal-en-el-primer-caso-juzgado-de-un-bebe-robado.html|language=es}}</ref> and the chief prosecutor of the Basque Country said that "not even reasonable evidence" of any abduction of babies had been found, after special investigations of the police.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Chávarri|first1=Inés P.|date=2 December 2012|title=La burbuja de los bebés robados|url=https://elpais.com/ccaa/2012/12/02/paisvasco/1354473800_513589.html|newspaper=El País|language=es}}</ref>

=== Other views ===
Sociologists [[Peter L. Berger|Peter Berger]] and [[Samuel P. Huntington|Samuel Huntington]] suggest that Opus Dei is involved in "a deliberate attempt to construct an alternative modernity", one that engages modern culture while at the same time is resolutely loyal to Catholic traditions.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Many Globalizations: Cultural Diversity in the Contemporary World|first1=Peter|last1=Berger|first2=Samuel|last2=Huntington|name-list-style=amp|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2002|isbn=84-493-1322-8}}</ref> Van Biema of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine emphasises Opus Dei's Spanish roots as a source of misunderstandings in the [[Anglo-Saxon]] world, and suggests that as the United States becomes more Hispanic, controversies about Opus Dei (and similar Catholic organizations) will decrease.<ref name="Van Biema 2006" />

In her 2006 book on Opus Dei, [[Maggy Whitehouse]], a non-Catholic journalist, argues that the relative autonomy of each director and center has resulted in mistakes at the local level. She recommends greater consistency and transparency for Opus Dei, which she sees as having learned the lesson of greater openness when it faced the issues raised by ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]'' and other critics.<ref name="Whitehouse 2006" />

One of the documents of the [[Second Vatican Council]] known as the [[Gaudium et spes|Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World]] provides some good context.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html|title=Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern Word-Gaudium et Spes|publisher=Holy See}}</ref> This majority vote document elaborates upon the relationship of the Church to the world at large. [[Catholic Social Teaching]] and Christian Secularity<ref>https://opusdei.org/en-au/article/topic-17-the-church-and-the-world/#:~:text=The%20Church%2C%20as%20a%20human%20and%20social%20community%2C,existence%2C%20which%20Jesus%20calls%20the%20%E2%80%9CKingdom%20of%20God.%E2%80%9D</ref> elaborate further. In 2005, John Allen published his text about Opus Dei.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.penguin.com.au/books/opus-dei-9780141926117|title=Opus Dei|first=John L.|last=Allen|date=4 May 2006|isbn=978-0-14-192611-7|publisher=Penguin}}</ref> In 2012, Eric Sammons<ref>https://ericsammons.com/about/</ref> published a short work, "Holiness for Everyone", about the practical spirituality of St Josemaria Escriva.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://ericsammons.com/product/holiness-for-everyone-2/|title=Holiness for Everyone|first=Eric|last=Sammons|date=22 November 2022|isbn=978-1-64413-772-7|publisher=[[Sophia Institute Press]]}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{stack|{{portal|Catholicism}}}}

* [[Controversies about Opus Dei]]
* ''[[L'Opus Dei: enquête sur le "monstre"]]'' [Opus Dei: Investigation on the "monster"] (book)
* [[List of members of Opus Dei]]
* [[Opus Dei and politics]]
* ''[[Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church]]'' (book)
* [[Opus Dei in society]]
* [[Parents for Education]] Foundation (PARED)
* [[List of Opus Dei saints and beatified people]]
* [[Josemaria Escriva]]

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Further reading ==
{{Main|Opus Dei: Bibliography}}

* Allen, John, Jr. (2005). ''[[Opus Dei (book)|Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church]]'', Doubleday Religion. {{ISBN|0-385-51449-2}}{{snd}}Interview: [http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/pfw121605.htm The Word From Rome December 16, 2005]. Online excerpts: [http://catholiceducation.org/articles/facts/fm0052.html Opus Dei: An Introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051217051003/http://catholiceducation.org/articles/facts/fm0052.html|date=17 December 2005}}, [http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385514507&view=excerpt Chapter I: A Quick Overview of Opus Dei], [https://web.archive.org/web/20051029034109/http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2005d/102805/102805r.php Chapter 7: Opus Dei and Secrecy]
* Berglar, Peter (1994). ''Opus Dei. Life and Work of its Founder''. Scepter.{{snd}}online here [http://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/ESCRIVA.ZIP]
* {{Cite book|last=Coverdale|first=John F.|title=Putting Down Roots: Father Joseph Muzquiz and the Growth of Opus Dei, 1912–1983|year=2010|publisher=[[Scepter Publishers]]|location=New York|isbn=978-1-59417-081-2|page=152|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XW4xCZqrOdsC}}
* De Plunkett, Patrice (2006). ''[[L'Opus Dei : enquête sur le "monstre"]]''. Presses de la Renaissance
* E.B.E – [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1523318880 "Opus Dei as divine revelation" (2016, 576 pages)]. An historical and theological study by a former member. It includes unpublished historical documents (the [http://www.opuslibros.org/PDF/regulationsenglis.pdf Regulations of 1941], several letters of Escrivá to Franco, documents about [http://www.opuslibros.org/nuevaweb/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=22166 Escrivá's request for being appointed bishop], etc.). {{ISBN|978-1523318889}} (paperback) and {{ASIN|B01D5MNGD2}} (ebook – Amazon). Online Preview on Amazon website here [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1523318880]
* Estruch, Joan (1995), ''Saints and Schemers: Opus Dei and its paradoxes''. Oxford University Press{{snd}}trans. of ''L'Opus Dei i les seves paradoxes'' (in Catalan){{snd}}online Spanish version here [http://www.opuslibros.org/libros/Santos_pillos/indice.htm Opus Dei: Santos y pillos. Índice]
* Friedlander, Noam (2005). "What Is Opus Dei? Tales of God, Blood, Money and Faith" Collins & Brown. {{ISBN|978-1-84340-288-6}}.{{snd}}a book review titled [https://web.archive.org/web/20070310211450/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article575959.ece "A Wholesome Reality Hides Behind A Dark Conspiracy"]
* Hahn, Scott (2006). ''Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace: My Spiritual Journey in Opus Dei''. Random House Doubleday Religion. {{ISBN|978-0-385-51924-3}}{{snd}}online excerpt of Chapter One here [http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385519243&view=excerpt]
* John Paul II. Sacred Congregation for Bishops. (23 August 1982). ''Vatican Declaration on Opus Dei''.{{snd}}online here [https://web.archive.org/web/20020527143114/http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=217 Opus Dei – Vatican Declaration on Opus Dei]
* Luciani, Albino (John Paul I) (25 July 1978). "Seeking God through everyday work". ''Il Gazzettino'' Venice.{{snd}}online here [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311125047/http://gabriel.mps.ohio-state.edu/od/opus.see]
* Martin, James, S.J. (25 February 1995). "Opus Dei in the United States". ''America Magazine''.{{snd}}online here [https://web.archive.org/web/20090116173841/http://www.americamagazine.org/content/articles/martin-opusdei.cfm America | The National Catholic Weekly]
* {{Cite book|author=Messori, Vittorio|title=Opus Dei, Leadership and Vision in Today's Catholic Church|publisher=Regnery Publishing|year=1997|isbn=0-89526-450-1|url=https://archive.org/details/opusdeileadershi00mess}}{{snd}}online version here [https://archive.org/details/opusdeileadershi00mess <!-- quote=opus dei. -->]
* O'Connor, William. ''Opus Dei: An Open Book. A Reply to "The Secret World of Opus Dei" by Michael Walsh'', Mercier Press, Dublin, 1991{{snd}}online here [https://web.archive.org/web/20071021061054/http://horatio.uap.edu.ph/opusdei/opusdei_chapter1.html Opus Dei: An Open Book]
* Oates, MT, et al. (2009). ''Women of Opus Dei: In Their Own Words''. Crossroad Publishing Company. {{ISBN|0-8245-2425-X}}.
* Ratzinger, Joseph (Benedict XVI) (9 October 2002). "St. Josemaria: God is very much at work in our world today". ''L'Osservatore Romano Weekly Edition in English'', p.&nbsp;3.{{snd}}online here [http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdfjosma.htm]
* Schall, James, S.J. (Aug–September 1996). "Of Saintly Timber". ''Homiletic and Pastoral Review''.{{snd}}review of Estruch's work, online here [http://us.catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Homiletic/0809-96/8/8.html] {{dead link|date=September 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}
* Shaw, Russel (1994). ''Ordinary Christians in the World''. Office of Communications, Prelature of Opus Dei in the US.{{snd}}online here [http://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/OD_SHAW.TXT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716185244/http://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/OD_SHAW.TXT|date=16 July 2012}}
* {{Cite book|last=Walsh|first=Michael|title=Opus Dei: An Investigation into the Secret Society Struggling For Power Within the Catholic Church|year=1989|publisher=[[HarperCollins|HarperSanFrancisco]]|location=New York|isbn=0-06-069268-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/opusdeiinvestiga0000wals/page/230 230 w/Index]|url=https://archive.org/details/opusdeiinvestiga0000wals/page/230}}
* [http://www.odan.org/statutes_1982.htm 1982 Statutes of Opus Dei]—Latin and English (unauthorized translation)
* {{cite book|author=Dominique Le Tourneau|title=What Is Opus Dei?|publisher=Gracewing|year=2002|isbn=0-85244-136-3}}—a French scholar's synthesis, himself a member of the Opus Dei.
* {{cite book|author=Giuseppe Romano|title=Opus Dei: Who? How? Why?|publisher=Alba House|year=1995|isbn=0-8189-0739-8}}—a study of an Italian essayist
* {{cite book|author=Jean-Jacques Thierry|title=Opus Dei: A Close Up|url=https://archive.org/details/opusdei0000unse|url-access=registration|publisher=Cortland Press|year=1975}}—the first serious study on Opus Dei to be published, written by a French journalist

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}

=== Opus Dei official sites ===

* {{Official website|http://www.opusdei.org/}}
* [http://www.josemariaescriva.info/ The founder of Opus Dei: Official Site]
* [http://www.escrivaworks.org/ Writings of the founder of Opus Dei]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110721065307/http://www.isje.org/eng/ St. Josemaría Escrivá Historical Institute, Rome]
* [https://www.youtube.com/opusdei YouTube Channel – Opus Dei]
* [https://www.youtube.com/josemariaescriva YouTube Channel – St. Josemaria]

=== Sites by former members ===

* [https://www.odan.org/ Opus Dei Awareness Network]
* [https://www.opuslibros.org/ Opus Libros (Spanish)]
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/opusdeiexposed Opus Dei Exposed Subreddit]
* [https://www.youtube.com/@Agora-Coloquios Agora – Colloquios a Libertad (Spanish / English)]

{{Opus Dei}} {{Lay Cath Spirituality}} {{Catholic Church}} {{Authority control}}