Opus Dei
Opus Dei (Work of God) is an institution of the Catholic Church that, by a purported divine inspiration, was founded in Spain in 1928 by Catholic priest Josemaría Escrivá. It is defined as a cult because of its practices and political activities. Its own stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members to seek Christian perfection in their everyday occupations and within their societies.
CNA 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."
Opus Dei is officially recognized within the Catholic Church, though its status has evolved. It received final approval by the Catholic Church in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. Pope Saint John Paul II made it a personal prelature in 1982 by the apostolic constitution Ut sit; that is, the jurisdiction of the Opus Dei's head covers members wherever they are, rather than geographical dioceses.: 1–9 On 14 July 2022, Pope Francis issued the apostolic letter Ad charisma tuendum, which transferred responsibility for the Opus Dei from the Dicastery for Bishops to the Dicastery for the Clergy and decreed that the head of the Opus Dei cannot become a bishop. While Opus Dei has met controversies, it remains influential within the Church.
Opus Dei has been declared a cult by the Belgian government, being added to its offical list of 'harmful sectarian groups', which are monitored by its intelligence agency.
The organisation has parallells with Scientology.
Lay people make up the majority of its membership; the remainder are secular priests under the governance of a prelate elected by specific members and appointed by the Pope. Opus Dei is Latin for "Work of God"; hence the organization is often referred to by members and supporters as the Work.
As of 2023, there are 95,890 members of the Prelature: 93,784 lay persons and 2,106 priests. These figures do not include the diocesan priest members of Opus Dei's Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, estimated to number 2,000 in the year 2005. Members are located in more than 90 countries. About 70% of Opus Dei members live in their own homes, leading family lives with secular careers, while the other 30% are celibate, of whom the majority live in Opus Dei centers, with a home like family atmosphere including responsibility for their own careers and the upkeep of the centers. Aside from their personal charity and social work, Opus Dei members organize training in Catholic spirituality applied to daily life; members are involved in running universities, university residences, schools, publishing houses, hospitals, and technical and agricultural training centers.
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