Mon, 01 May 2006
Opus Dei
John L. Allen, Opus Dei: The Truth about
its Rituals, Secrets and Power, Penguin
Notice of Opus Dei came to the general public
through Dan Brown's fantastically successful fiction book, The
Da Vinci Code. In it, Opus Dei (latin for "work of God") is a
secret society that is party to the general frolics that go on.
This, in turn, led to a lot of stupid journalism that in turn
captured the minds of ... some people.
In this book, John Allen, a well-known Vatican correspondent
has a very detailed look at Opus Dei and what they really stand for.
First of all, they are not especially secret. A quick search on
Google will no doubt turn up your local branch complete with
contacts and mission statement. Aha, you say, but once you're
in; that's when the secret missions start! Well, maybe, although
the secret mission is more likely to be to get more buns but don't
tell Nora.
One of the very appealing ideas behind Opus Dei is the
sanctification of ordinary life and work. In other words,
you don't rape and pillage all week and then meekly kneel
at the altar on Sundays and expect, if not redemption, then
a somewhat indirect word from God that it is alright to be
smug. This philosophy of life and work is also
a nice antidote to the tabloid philosophy that no-one's work
has any importance at all -- a ridiculous nihilism that denies
the reality that, in modern society, we are all dependent
on one another. And this does especially include those who do
more menial work. "God is in the details" takes on a fuller
meaning here.
Less appealing to quite a number of everyday Catholics is a very strict
adherence to the doctrines
of the church -- not all Catholics agree, for example, with
doctrines to do with abortion or contraception, or women in the
priesthood, or even the necessity of going to Mass on a weekly
basis.
Quite revealing in the book, is the actual daily religious
practise of the members. Far from just applying the idea that
the work of everyday life is sacred, there is quite a lot
of time devoted to prayer and the like, including daily
communion.
Needless to say a book like this will not allay the
fears of conspiracy theorists but the rest of us are better
informed after reading it and it's also a good guide to the
ways in which quite a large section of humanity thinks -- the
large section being not Opus Dei, who number around 84,000
for the whole world, but the Catholic church itself.
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