Faith, power, manipulation - The secrets of the Opus Dei sect | DW Documentary

The

opus

dei is one of the most

power

ful organizations within the Catholic church, extremely well connected in the Vatican, backed by former popes and feared by former members. I would call it an authoritarian organization within the Catholic church, even more authoritarian than the church itself. The head of the

opus

. dei in germany rarely gives interviews, but he made an exception for this report. He emphasized the group's Christian values. The primary importance of Opus Dei lies in the wonderful message of how to live each day with love and mercy as a Christian. The founder of the opus dei, José María Escrivar.

He was venerated as a saint during his lifetime He aligned himself with

power

ful people, especially in Spain, the German branch of the group also seeks close contact with politicians and church leaders such as Cardinal Reiner Maria Volky The controversial archbishop of Cologne traditionally shy of the Media Opus Dei was forced into the spotlight by Dan Brown's best-selling The Da Vinci Code and subsequent film, the group was portrayed as bloodthirsty and ruthless, but where is the line between myth and reality? Is the opus dei a Catholic cult that endangers its members and a free society or is the personal prelature nothing more than another pious institution struggling to keep an ever-decreasing number of believers in the fold of Pamplona, ​​the capital From the Nevada region of northern Spain, this is where the Opus Dei began its rise.

The Catholic Church played a prominent role in the lives of many in this rural region. The ground here was fertile for a new devout group like the Opus. dei in 1928 a young priest josé maría escrivar is impressed by what he calls divine inspiration he founds the opus dei in english the work of god his mission christianized the world things move slowly at first but the spanish civil war marks a turning point turning point the politicians of opus dei and nevada support general francisco franco after his victory the general shows his thanks as a token of gratitude navarra was allowed to maintain its own tax system the opus dei benefited financially by siding with franco another reason When Escrivá was asked why he had chosen Navarra, he said it was God's plan, as if God had pointed his finger here.

The agreement with fascist leader Francisco Franco is worth it for God's elites, as they call themselves members of the group. economic and political positions they use their powerful roles to open Spain to tourism and liberalized the economy in the early 1960s a finance minister associated with the opus dei becomes director of the bank of spain government loans flow to companies linked to the Government of Spain group and the Opus Dei remain intertwined even now education, justice and presumably banking are still under their influence. How we turn to Anna Azansa, a philosophy professor and former long-time member of Opus Dei.

Opus Dei has retained so much power because there was never a true break with the country's past. which would have been fundamental for our social progress it is as if we put on a new coat of paint after franco's death but the foundations and central structures of spain remained intact no one was held accountable the young people of today know almost nothing about the dictatorship the subject is taboo and much of it is covered up no one is brave enough to reflect and analyze it it will probably continue like this for the next century anna azansa has an idea of ​​the inner workings of the opus dei she was part of the group for 19 years one of the approximately 90,000 members worldwide members in north and south america represent around a third of that total there are approximately 10,000 members in africa asia australia and oceana combined spain is the strongest base of opus dei with around 35,000 members another 4,000 are in italy and Germany around 600 clergy and lay people in 1945 the day of the opus begins to expand from Spain to Portugal and Italy then to Germany France and England later establishes centers in North and South America Today there are members in 90 countries including Africa and eastern europe opus dei is structured around strict hierarchies, at first only men are allowed to join, although women are soon allowed too pralit fernando ocaris now heads the group about two percent of its members are priests about 10 percent are the so-called numeraries who live in Opus Dei centers separated by gender and committed to celibacy.

They are supported by female numerary assistants who cook and clean in the facilities. The largest group is the supernumeraries who follow the values ​​of the Opus Dei. opus dei but they are allowed to marry and lead a private life the german branch of the opus dei is based in cologne it has long been supported by the archdiocese of cologne previously by cardinal joachim meisner then by his successor cardinal volky not everyone approves This close relationship, this priest of the archdiocese spoke to us on condition of anonymity to avoid repercussions, Colonia is one of the richest dioceses in Germany and the world, which is why Colonia has become an attractive destination for the ultra-conservative Catholic groups that emerged in the 20th century, the legionaries of christ along the neocatechumenal path and others have found their way here, have been welcomed by the bishops and are easily supported this priest and other ministers have their reasons for not wanting to openly criticize Oprah's day the clear corner It was this corner of Catholicism.

I have always been struck by the fear that bishops have of an open conflict with the Opus Dei. All I think is what you have to lose, not that a bishop is going to be stripped of his title for criticizing the opus dei but the fear is real what fuels this fear is justified after persistent requests christophe bockkamp agreed to an interview in which he has been director of the opus dei germany for more than 25 years the regional vicar is satisfied with the growing popularity of the group bishops around the world ask our prelate in Rome to open branches of the opus dei everywhere we cannot meet the demand in recent decades centers have sprung up everywhere eastern europe in our case membership is gradually growing paramount importance of the opus dei lies in the wonderful message of how to live to spend each day in love and mercy as a foreign Christian love and mercy so why is there so much fear around the opus dei boccamp? neither understands we continue to investigate what the group really wants the internal writings mention the sanctification of daily life and the Christianization of society what that looks like in practice initially sanctifying daily life and imbuing work with Christian values ​​is a good concept the notion that Christianity is not only limited to a religious service or pious exercise in the church but is connected to society and life outside the church.

I think intuition is good and there were others before the opus dei, but eventually more elitist notions of the search for power and certain ecclesiastical objectives arose, that is a common thread throughout the history of the day of the opus and that is when the Christianization of society and the sanctification of work and daily life take on a different meaning. Former members of the opus dei rarely talk about Christian values. Many speak of intimidation and insistence on obedience. I spoke with another former member who asked to remain anonymous. She wanted to be a nurse. I moved away from home and during my training I tried various things and that's how I met Sonenfeld, a vocational school here in Cologne.

At first I had no idea. It was related to the church that is coming, I realized that first people become friends with you and little by little they show you, look, the house has a church chapel, they look at your reaction, how you react, whether you show interest or not, and I thought about it. It was a great secular organization and I found it totally fantastic. I was ecstatic. I started trying to convert everyone around me like other religious groups. Opus Dei focuses on recruiting young people who can attract more members. We were supposed to find more people who had the vocation.

I took a sewing course at the adult education center not to learn how to sew but to find people we could invite to the center that was the goal now I see everything but before I thought it was great I was delighted I would have given my life for them , many new members feel great pressure to perform, not complying, causes experienced problems because of their control, staying beyond control, which means putting pressure on people to follow all these rules and punishing them if they don't when it comes of

faith

, there is a certain pressure to excel the opus dei emphasizes both financial success and the idea that

faith

is a type of measurable performance you always fall short you always feel like you are not doing enough it is also a means to apply pressure and domination this was a teenager when he was recruited by the opus dei he stayed for nine years he founded a platform for former members after leaving the platform one of the reasons behind the platform was that the former members at first felt very guilty you promised do something but you didn't do it on the day of the opus approaches people without saying who they are and what they want, acts like a cult in some critical areas, the candidate shows emotion and is courted, but when they really join the trap, the tone changes and everything is demanded of them, as the founder said: "we get naked." He even organized the screen that we have seen in our piece of perfume.

Carmen Charo knows it from personal experience. She was only 12 years old when she was courted by the Opus Dei youth club. I was a shy, lonely girl and my father always forced me. I feel stupid everyone welcomed me warmly at the opus dei youth club we played the guitar I felt accepted and little by little they brought me to the point where I signed up but soon realized that I was not really suitable for a life in the opus Dei I felt imprisoned but every time I wanted to leave they pressured me you can't do that God will never forgive you you will pay for it all your life things like that I had little confidence in myself and I didn't know where to go so I was easy prey for them and they caught me and again we meet antonio escavius ​​​​in madrid he was a priest in the opus dei for 30 years then he stopped getting married and started a new life everything is planned in the opus dei the alarm clock rings shortly after six which means getting up from the bed kiss the floor and say serviem or I will serve god and on the day of the opus then it is time for a cold shower warm water is prohibited then pray the rosary and mass after helping with breakfast pray again then work and at night internal reflection alone and once a week with the spiritual director of the center a life of rules and renunciations only approved books or films or theater is really a parallel universe you cannot watch a football game or drive your own car wherever and whenever you want You have You have to give your car key to the manager and the money you earn is strictly controlled, you get a small amount for the basics, but you still have to track your expenses and account for each subway ticket at the end of the month and, if you want, to buy a new pair of pants you can't just go to a store first you have to ask the director the philosophy of the founder of the opus dei josé maría escrivar can be read in his book Camino in English the way he wrote your duty is to be An instrument obeys like an instrument obeys in the hand of the artist without stopping to consider the reasons for what he is doing obedience duties rules prohibitions former members remember how their frustrations gradually increased Can you obey?

That's usually the first question so you can be molded and you just do what the father and other leaders tell you is this metal chain with spikes two to three millimeters thick, you wear it with the spikes digging into your thigh and you sit in it for two hours every day to submit one's desires to the east and this is the penitential scourge other means of penance are the cold shower for the father in the morning and sleeping on the floor twice a week the numbers cannot sleeping on mattresses for principles there is also the practice of resting your head on a phone book instead of a pillow when you sleep sometimes I have a stiff neck in the end it bothered me all that I thought this can't be it that's a constant sign of suffering and sleepless nights for the leader of the opus dei in germany returns to the tradition of pious there is simply a tradition of asceticism in the church that mother teresa practiced that pope john paul practiced that many others practiced it is something that people today in day you may not understand it is about following the Lord who suffered, who was crucified, who was scourged serves as a small reminder it must be good for our body our body is part of our being asceticism is part of the Christian life how the people it's up to them this is fine a reminder of the sufferings of christ as an exercise of faith critics are skeptical there are extremely violent fantasies behind this and it is extremelyphysically harmful Although the idea that keeping this evil body under control and inflicting harm is a way of following Christ who carried the cross and was scourged has always been questioned, that is very difficult for me to understand spiritually, there is a long tradition of misogyny and physical harm throughout history. of Catholicism and Christianity but specifically the hostility towards women but in the opus dei many Catholic teachings what all Catholics must believe is taken to the extreme zone our conservative groups such as the opus dei perceived within the Catholic church a request for an interview with cardinal volky was rejected two men from volky's inner circle are closely linked to the opus dei marcus hoffmann his former vicar general and right hand man is a member of the priestly society of the holy cross an organization inextricably linked to the opus dei the auxiliary bishop suspended dominicus schwaderlab is also linked to the group is in dispute over whether the opus dei is trying to influence volky the archdiocese rejects the idea volky insists that he is not a member of the opus dei and is no closer to this group than anyone else, for what the opus dei has entrenched itself in the archdiocese of colony has not started for a long time, in the archdiocese of colony there are several very powerful, high-ranking and influential people in the clergy who support the members and sympathizers of the opus dei and voki are undoubtedly under its influence the main idea here is that you cannot be the archbishop of Cologne and have the opus dei against you that is simply not possible it is too influential in colony too significant too deep-rooted the importance of opus dei day in the archdiocese of colony is especially evident in the church of san pantalion in 1987 it was entrusted to the priests of the opus dei giving the opus dei its own church in colony dear sisters, dear brothers, today we remember again the blessed bishop, cardinal volcky preached here as he did The transfer of the parish to Opus Dei by his predecessors Huffner and Meisner caused outrage at the time when many in the parish perhaps even the majority were against the members of the parish council resigned some were transferred to other parishes while the members of the opus dei came here and expanded the parish confined to their homes theologian peter hertle is an expert in the opus dei 2015 this church was highlighted during the 16th visit of pope benedict in 2005 as a parish of the opus dei at that time it was the the only church in cologne chosen by the pope for a meeting is clearly an important and central church for the opus dei in germany the opus dei can be found in many powerful institutions, for example in the european central bank member of the opus dei luis de quindos es vice president of the european court of human rights in strasbourg, spanish judge maría elusigue is supposedly linked to the opus dei also as a perspective, this is of course intentional, it is precisely about influencing politics, the economy, culture, the judiciary, everything the academic field, the universities, in other words, position yourself close to the elites or become part of the elite yourself, the Vatican in Rome has been the center of Christianity for two thousand years and the founder of the opus dei, josé maría escrivar , moved to Rome in 1946 to consolidate his position.

Later, he was also laying the foundation for the opus dei to become an elite force within the vatican before john paul ii became pope when he was still a cardinal in poland he had great admiration for writing and the opus dei writing He died in 1975 and did not live to see the election of John Paul II to the papacy, but the Polish pope elevated the Opus Dei to the status of a personal prelature seven years later, unique in the history of the church. It became indirect subordination to the pope in 2002. John Paul II canonized Scrivar as a saint less than 30 years after the founder's death.

Another unusual move in the history of the Catholic Church when Joseph Ratzinger was elected successor to John Paul II in 2005. The Opus Dei reportedly welcomed the opposite news the opus dei was very engaged in the period leading up to the election of pope benedict josef ratzinger on the first day of the conclave a member of the opus dei told me that it will be a very short conclave and ratzinger will be elected and that is precisely what happened Pope Benedict also supported the Opus Dei appointed priests of the group as bishops in the Vatican He remains linked to the group encouraged by its vision of strengthening the faith and Pope Francis is a Jesuit and is not considered a close ally of the days of Oprah but allows to the personal prelature its liberties and has appointed more members as auxiliary bishops Escrivar's legacy lives on almost 50 years after his death, presumably the pious Spaniard would have been proud to see what happened to his original vision, especially in his homeland native, we visited the campus of the University of Narvara in Pamplona, ​​property of the Opus Dei, Manuel Mira is an architect and former councilor of Pamplona, ​​​​he studied at the university and knows its history well the entire campus occupies 1.2 million square meters 120 hectares, that is, about 200 football photographs, the area was previously used as a public park the city of Pamplona gave it on the day of the opus a very generous gift in fact Manuel Mira firmly believes that registration should be free but that is not the case tuition costs up to 18,000 euros a year well above the Spanish average they are looking for people who will rise to the highest levels of society who will obtain an academic degree or hold an important political office or become a bishop or even in the pope the opus dei maintains a very close-knit network to bring members to powerful positions in addition to the university in pamplona there is the pontifical university of santa croce in rome hospitals in pamplona and madrid business schools in spain united states brazil and Germany several hundred schools and nurseries as well as numerous foundations the investments seem to be bearing fruit it is still said that the Spanish judiciary is influenced by the opus dei former judge santiago vidal made serious accusations, the newspaper el publico quoted him as saying that a third of all Spanish judges and prosecutors are linked to the opus dei the opus dei also appears to obtain significant financial support from the Spanish education system, according to el pais, a major Spanish newspaper in 2020, investment in state-subsidized private schools, the most of which are religious, increased by seven percent, while investment in the public school system fell by five percent.

The Opus Dei network of private schools also includes the Iese business school in Barcelona, ​​​​as classified by the Financial Times. The school's MBA program, one of the best globally, launched in Munich in 2015. Students do not have to be Catholic to study there, but they do have to be able to pay the hefty tuition of more than €70,000 for the courses. two. year we wanted to ask the director of the Munich business school if graduates are expected to do favors for Opus Dei later in their careers, but our interview request was denied. We were told our questions made little sense.

Returning to Spain, in the southeastern part of Campo a Murcia, we meet a woman who tells us a shocking story about how her father's death unfolded. My father was a member of the Opus Dei, as were my late mother and my brother Fernando. he is a priest of the opus dei one day my brother told my father you will die in four days my father was really surprised, he told everyone that he had lung cancer, but it was not in the final stages, his doctors had told him that he He had several more months to live and he was active meeting friends for coffee, but he died exactly four days later in very strange circumstances according to Josefina Ortado.

A doctor from the Opus Dei went in and out of his father's apartment. He sounded sedated on the phone and finally left. To answer Josefina was working as a doctor in England at the time her father died on May 17, 2015 before he could return to Spain on the day of the ascension and the anniversary of the beatification of the founder of the Opus Dei, Escrivar, what coincidence, then at his funeral other members of the opus dei said that it was a blessing from heaven that the crack of saint joseph mary was their mediator before god people even called me to congratulate me it was really absurd but it opened my eyes she began to suspect that Her priest brother played a role in her father's death she reported him and possible accomplices the toxicology report revealed that her father was given sedatives for his heart medication He was arrested and was not drinking enough fluids.

Was her death really planned? We obtained a document from the founder of Opus Dei, Escrivar, which was leaked to the court. He was saying in part that when your time comes, a priest will take care of you. You must confess everything. him so that he can prepare you for the embrace of god, then a doctor will come and give you an injection. He is the opus dei playing god. a serious accusation that a spokesperson denies. some things are so ridiculous that they don't even deserve an answer i have never seen or heard of such a document no one can know anything about it because it doesn't exist the real question here is who made it up it's unfortunate that a family matter like this ends up in court that is, it is picked up by the press but that's how it is in life sometimes there is nothing you can do but this document does exist the text appeared in the 1989 book meditations part 4 on page 695 written by the founder of the opus dei eskrivar the book It is available to members in all Opus Dei centers in Spain.

Court records show that the death of Josefina Urtado's father was investigated as a murder. There were also suspicions of forgery of a will benefiting the Opus Dei, but the clues were inconclusive. opus dei destroyed our lives we used to be a very close family but after my parents joined opus dei everything fell apart towards the end of his life my father told me your mother and I were deceived they lied to us and they deprived us of our riches promised us heaven but we ended up in hell josefina otado died in 2020. her family chose not to continue In the case, later investigators found no clear evidence of foul play.

Opus dei founder Escrivar would like to say how difficult it is to enter the work of God and how easy it is to abandon it again, but former members tell a very different story. Aware of how brutal it was when I was in this situation and I thought oh God, you don't even have slippers, you don't even have an alarm clock, my father fought for me and increased the pressure, they only reacted when he said we would go to the press now and What you did to my daughter will be a headline in tomorrow's paper and that's when they reacted.

I received a small payment that I used to pay my first month's rent and deposit. That was all other former members shared. similar stories if the members of the opus dei decide they want to leave they are pressured to reconsider the regional vigor bockhamp says that is not true the decision to respond to this call is one of the freest decisions anyone can make life decisions are free By nature, people are also free to choose to take another path. In my 25 years as a regional vicar, I do not remember any particular case in which people have been pressured.

What Pilate said about the opening of the Opus Dei is, of course, problematic for those within. They confirm what he says while those who leave tell a completely different story. What is true? then they are traitors they are liars someone who exercises power cannot understand that others perceive it as pressure it is actually a question of who has the power does it seem like it is a question of perspective? Those who have found a personal calling in the work of God cannot understand the accusations, but disillusioned former members bitterly criticized the group in a secular society not everyone understands the appeal of opus dei while German diocese admits to losing believers en masse the opus dei says it easily finds new recruits since those who know how to leave the church are often those who believed the church is changing anyone who is looking for order, hierarchy and authority in the church is not moving away, they are now finally saying these liberals who were not true believers are finally here now that he is gone, it would be much better for us here and our influence will be much greater when all the lukewarm believers, the gray sheep are gone, it is the purest ones left behind and in this flock pure, as well as in other very authoritarian spiritual communities, will be more dominant.

The Catholic Church finds itself once again at a crossroads, whether it opens to the world or entrenches itself. Pope Francis seems unwilling or unable to choose a clear direction for the Opus Dei. That question is at the very center of its future. Today, the Opus Dei. It does not have the same powerful role that it had in the 70s or 80s, but the opus dei wants to play a role in the next conclave so that there is not a pope as progressive as Pope Francis, I do not think that the opus dei has to fear losing his influence on Pope Francis of the Vatican is certainly no friend of Opus Day andOpus Dei definitely does not have a figurehead sitting on the papal throne, but in other matters, family women or in relation to gender, Pope Francis is also somewhat conservative and certainly not at the forefront of the reform movement. money, he has a lot of real estate and houses, he has companies that he indirectly controls and this way, even if it is not pastoral care, he will maintain his presence and apply pressure.

I believe that Opus Day will make its way among the elites and beyond that we will wait patiently until the time comes to return to the center of attention the opus remains in no hurry eternity is on its side the opus dei remains a shrouded phenomenon In secret it may not be a criminal organization or a holy mafia, but it cannot claim to be open or transparent, nor does it revolve around faith, power and money, and if the former members are also believed to be

manipulation

and pressure, it would appear that cohesion and obedience trump the promoted values ​​of love and mercy.