Dear David,
I'm sending this message to you because I have a brother in the Opus during 9 years (since he was 14 until 25). My brother was aggregate to the Opus and all his money went to the Opus while he has to work from 9 AM until 10 PM. My family, in special my mother, suffered it a lot. Well, I'm sending to you this message to visit www.opuslibros.org It's a page of all the spanish ex-members who tells about their experience in the "Obra". The only problem is that it is in spanish but a lot of americans know spanish so... I hope it will be helpful.

Alberto Baeza
Madrid, Spain

David Van Biema: Dear Alberto, Thank you for your letter. If we revisit the topic we will try to include mention of Opuslibros, as we did ODAN in the current story. More and more American Catholics are Spanish-speaking, as you say. I am sorry for the suffering of your mother.
Sincerely, DVB

My son at the age of 12 became a member and the leaders of the group actually lied to us about their intentions. They had him write a letter to Rome that he would become a priest after high school. Never told us. They also were having kids leave watches etc. behind at the meeting house telling them they could always retrieve it when they needed it. Quite upsetting for us as parents, particularly the fact that the men who work or do they volunteer(?) Opus Dei are not what they say they are.

Ann Cerniglia
Greenwich, CT

David Van Biema: Dear Ms. Cerniglia, I may be wrong, but I don't think that Opus Dei accepts members any more at that age, although they may have in the past. I realize that diocesan authorities are limited in terms of their influence over Opus, but if this incident is recent, you might want ask around and find out whether the group itself actually allows children so young to join. A group such as the Opus Dei Awareness Networ (ODAN) whose URL we printed in the story, may also provide some information.
Sincerely, DVB

Hi David,
I have been a faithful, practicing Catholic for my entire life and I have never even heard of Opus Dei. I admire their strong faith but I am absolutely horrified at their practice of using corporal punishment for penance(such as a cilice or a whip). This sounds so prehistoric and cruel. I wish they would stop this practice immediately as it is an embarrassment to the modern Catholic Church, where we stress faith in Jesus but with a modern, common sense approach. How can they possibly justify corporal punishment in these modern times??

Joe Allen
Kansas City, MO

David Van Biema: Dear Joseph, As we suggested in the article, to some extent this appears to be a cultural difference, with the Hispanic Catholic tradition more comfortable with it than some other ethnic precincts of the church. Part of the friction when any "local" movement becomes global is that local practices may unnerve people to whom they are not customary. Certainly self-mortification has always been a "public-relations" problem for Opus Dei in places like the States, and will probably continue to be.
Sincerely, DVB

The connection with Robert Hanssen intrigues me. Is it true that his Opus Dei confessor told him not to turn himself in but to give the money to Mother Teresa? Doesn't that make the Missionaries of Charity a money laundering scheme?

Karen
Bronx, NY

David Van Biema: That seems a little harsh on the Missionaries of Charity, who presumably didn't know why they were receiving those particular contributions. The priest's advice, at least as reported in the press, seems to have had many flaws, not the least that Hanssen continued his spying. Whether any of this could be blamed on Opus Dei itself is another question.
Sincerely, DVB

I was struck with the way your lengthy article on Opus Dei (April 24 issue) ended: a young student becomes curious after hearing that Opus Dei is a worldwide conspiracy. After discovering that things were exactly opposite, he found his own vocation, became a member and is now a Cardinal of the Catholic Church.

Knowing the institution first hand, I find it unfortunate that your article seems to insist on reading behind the objective facts, on the entrigue more than on the reality.

I can't help but expect many reactions like those of Julian Cardinal Herranz, that is, from the readers who are sincerely in search of the truth—not the myth—about Opus Dei.

L.D. Sastre
Manila (Philippines)

David Van Biema: Thanks for your letter. I think that Opus Dei is still at a stage where it is necessary to wade through the various claims as well as present its self-understanding. It may be that the "intrigue" turns out to be just that, but at this point, so early in the group's campaign toward true transparency, it seems to me that some of the questions deserve continued scrutiny, while in other cases it is good to put false claims to rest. Given the circumstances, I'd like to think that we struck the correct balance; but I'm sorry if you felt otherwise.
Respectfully, DVB

In these articles, I gather that women are relegated to the role of house servants. What is the heirarchy of this organization and what is Opus Dei's vision for the future of women? How can you confirm the existence of Opus Dei in your own parish?

M. Smith
Phoenix, AZ

David Van Biema: The place of women in Opus Dei is complex. On the one hand, many of the group's "numerary" core are women, and because of the strict separation of sexes in Opus they actually have their own administrative system which presumably affords them considerable independence. Among the larger supernumerary group Escriva was very explicit about describing motherhood and housekeeping as legitimate forms of the work he wanted to sanctify, and many Opus families resemble pre-Conciliar Catholic families where there are a lot of children and a large part of the respect accorded to women is as mothers, which may or may not please the listener depending on where he/she is on the feminist spectrum. The fact that the "numerary assistant" title in Opus, which describes the people responsible for the upkeep of the Opus centers, is entirely female, is one that bothers many critics and which the Opus Dei folks defend on their own terms. If you want to read more about this, you might try John Allen's book Opus Dei.
I don't know how Opus sees the future of women, and I'm afraid I don't know how to confirm the existence of Opus Dei in your own parish. I'm tempted to say ask your priest or send a letter to Opus's national Headquarters in New York, but I don't know howe effective either would be.
Sincerely, DVB

Why don't you make an article about the "Legionaries of Christ" founded by Marcial Maciel, a more fanatic, intolerant, money interested, dirty movement that started in Mexico and is like the competition of Opus?

Pedro Martinez
Guadalajara, Jal, Mexico

David Van Biema: Dear Mr. Martinez, We have considered a substantive story on them from time to time, but have not done one yet. One of the reasons we have written on Opus at this time is that through the Da Vinci Code, it has become a bigger topic than its numbers would indicate. Thanks for the suggestion.
Sincerely, DVB

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