corn

I know a few people who have joined opus dei. They seem fine, maybe they are hiding something from me. Ive heard the stories about the coming war with Islam, but never from anyone who has been a member.

quartodeciman

link to Opus Dei website --->
http://www.opusdei.org/

It is rumored about that Opus Dei has two layers.

The outside layer attracts numbers of young catholics, clergy and religious (monks and nuns) that are highly devoted to traditional church teachings.

The inside core is supposed to be secret and more militant. People selected for this devote their lives to carrying out projects and operations to furthur church goals in the world and to combatting perceived enemies of the church, both external (anticatholics and antagonistic religions/philosophies) and internal (revisionists and liberals).

The outside layer people (according to the rumor) probably don't know about that inner core.

Strangeways

From everything I have read about them that is absolutely true. There are even different official publications for the two levels. And if you look at Opus Dei's official site that you posted, that further confirms these suspicions. Opus Dei advertises itself as an unobtrusive sect, concerned only with advancing the Gospel and all that stuff, etc., etc. But then to read the horror stories of people who were part of this sect, and the paranoia and enclosed atmosphere that they talk about, you have to wonder what happened to the friendly front that they were sold.

8of9

Opus Dei is part of a general movement in the church toward "lay congregations" which are on the rise as the religious orders decline. I think they are successful right now because they give Catholics who want to be more fanatical a way to do so within the church (as opposed to becoming fundies or mormons), with frequent bible studies, and additional responsibility and closed social circles as commitment increases. The lay congregations seem to think of themselves as the last hope of the church, as revolutionaries, and as being misrepresented and even persecuted by some more traditional powerful groups within the church. That said, some lay congregations have the full backing of the Vatican.

The Legionaries of Christ is a relatively new (1950's or 60's?) and "elite" religious order which has a large and growing lay congregation under its umbrella, called "Regnum Christi". RC, like Opus Dei, has various levels. Some RC members live their lives in the "secular" community, but commit to daily devotional prayer and weekly group study. Others live in relatively closed communities as consecrated virgins (my sister-in-law is one of these).

Within her community, every minute of the day is scheduled in order to maximize the work the women can do toward bringing about christ's kingdom on earth. They own nothing. They may visit their families two days out of the year, unless they happen to be stationed in another country, and they must attend mass and pray/meditate for several hours of each of those days, as usual. They pretty much live the family values of the bible (completely rejecting their natural families for the community of christ). They may not attend family weddings or other happy events, but are allowed to go home for funerals. They have a period of "formation" (read: indoctrination), and are given a rigorous education in self-discipline, etiquette, manners, as well as whatever is deemed necessary to their mission. RC's general mission involves running schools, counseling young Catholics, and promoting the Catholic agenda in the public sphere.

I have visited the group home my SIL lived in for the first 4 years she was in RC. The women all dress in modest, businesslike outfits (which they don't own, but are assigned to them) and wear stepford wives smiles. They certainly seem happy. They are passionately devoted to the adoration of the Blessed Virgin. They wear wedding rings and speak of Jesus as their spouse -- I mean, at least as often as I refer to my real spouse. They intone long, memorized prayers for the health and future sainthood of their founder, whom they call "Nuestro Padre" (RC started in Mexico and is msot active in Latin American countries, so their official language is Spanish). They attend daily latin mass in the home chapel, and they awake in the morning to someone saying "Christ the King" to which they reply "Your Kingdom Come."

And my husband and I are the only ones in the family who think this is a mind-sucking cult! Whatever. The women are there by choice, and everything in their lives reaffirms to them that they are doing the absolute best thing they can do with their lives. They are sucked in when they're in high school and college, which seems like a perfect time to prey on young women's sensitivities about where they fit in, will they ever be loved, how will they bear the responsibility of making choices in life, and will sex ever be okay, if it's such a dirty thing?

It sickens me to see how easy it seems to be to raise an army of believers, and guide their thoughts and lives. Pick 'em at the right time, have them pre-indoctrinated with the idea of your authority (i.e., a catholic upbringing), and convince them they are doing what's right when they do as you say. You can even get some right smart ones (like my SIL) who can help govern the others in implementing your plans for world domination. It amazes me that people think the Catholic church is a benign or even benevolent force in the world.

Sorry for the rant -- I'm sure may have lost family to religious cults, but it used to seem pretty rare among ex-Catholics.