Dear Mary:

Opus Dei is a "personal prelature". Here is a quick definition:

A personal Prelature is a jurisdictional entity within the Church's hierarchical structure, presided over by a prelate, answerable to the Sacred Congregation of Bishops, and to which laity and clergy can belong. It is established by the Holy See for specific pastoral or organizational purposes, and it is governed by statutes given it by the Holy See. The word personal indicates that it is defined by persons, whereas, for example, dioceses and parishes are defined by geographical areas.

Pope John Paul II erected Opus Dei as the first "personal Prelature" in the Church. Thus the Holy See's opinion of Opus Dei is that Opus Dei is its own child, sort-to-speak and this child is loved.

Opus Dei, because it is a new form of organization, and because of its staunch orthodoxy as been under vicious attack by people and by the devil. There are so many slanders against Opus Dei that it is impossible to keep up with them.

Opus Dei is a fine organization approved and sanctioned by the Pope personally. I see no danger in joining them. Now, keep in mind that they approach things in a traditional way which some people might consider sexist or the like, but remember, the Church is not sexist, and the proper roles of men and women are God ordained according to the nature of male and female.

The Legion of St. Michael, to which I belong, is the same way. For example, most of the leadership positions (position of Superior, for example) must be held by a man (there are also some positions open to men or women). We require mantilla's whenever women attend our liturgies and we have a dress code for liturgies.

In any event, many people will consider Opus Dei "old fashioned" and frankly that is one reason it is attacked -- the "new fashioned" people are threatened by the "old fashioned" ways of doing things. They consider us "throw backs" to a time when they say the Church was oppressive and insensitive. This is nonsense, of course, but that is the way of liberals. Liberals, for all their preaching about tolerance, are the most intolerant people on the planet to anyone they perceive as threatening their self-proclaimed worldview.

Opus Dei is a fine organization. This does not mean that it is perfect. Any organization made up of humans will have imperfections. One might find individual chapters of Opus Dei that are not so good because of the foibles of local leaders and such. This is true of any organization. Human beings are human afterall.

Just as the whole Church cannot be judge upon the sins of an individual priest or bishop, neither can Opus Dei, or any other organization, be judged on the basis of the sins and imperfections of individual members and leaders.

If you are interested in Opus Dei, I would encourage you to check it out to see if the charism of Opus Dei is for you. As it is with any group, one may fit in to their charism or not; any particular Community can be everyone's cup of tea. If you find that Opus Dei is not your cup of tea, that is perfectly okay. Just keep searching for a community whose charism God is calling you to belong.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary