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maddenduncan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Was it really a 5 star book? Not really. To be honest, I’m not entirely enamored by the lives of the saints (especially an unsaintly one), which is what the first half is about. I found that section tedious and excessively long, but thorough. But I’m going to make a bet that there’s at least one guy out there giving it one star without reading it, so I’m here to balance things out. I’d give it a 4 maybe.
The subtitle promises “cult”, “dark money”, “human trafficking” and “right wing conspiracy”. The website of Opus Dei claims that these allegations are “absolutely false” and “conspiracy theories and forced speculation”. Let’s examine those four claims.
Cult: Reverence of a controlling and mystical figure (Josemaria)? Check. Absolute power of people’s lives, the information and family they have access to, and the abuse of their confessions for emotional blackmail? Check. Financial abuse of members? Check. Inability to freely leave? Double check (it’s a sin!). Maybe it isn’t a cult for all (those wealthy members in control) but yes it’s a cult.
Human trafficking: Undoubtedly yes. Not just trafficking. Slavery. Young men and women are coerced into joining under false pretenses as teenagers. Once institutionalized at shell camps and schools, meant to obscure Opus Dei’s involvement, they are trapped for their lives. Women work up to 15 hours a day, have all of their pay donated to the foundation before they see a penny of it, and have all ties to their former lives severed so that they have no way out. Without official work status or savings, there is no escape. Often, people are moved between countries to further the distance between them and freedom. These women often become victims of sexual and other abuse, and are withheld medical treatment. The group is also famous for the practice of “corporal mortification”, or mandated self-harm. It’s human trafficking whether they “consent” to joining or not, because they were misled, and often lied to with emotional and spiritual blackmail.
Dark money: since its inception, the group has made sly financial moves to position itself in charge of large financial institutions, often gaining control through illegal fraudulent means by way of conspiracy and obscurity with shell foundations and companies. They have had a decades-long strategy of targeting wealthy and successful students at top-tier institutions to have members placed in high up places, including in governments and corporations. This web of influence and money is used to further their goals of conservative catholic ideology, often illegally misusing these positions.
Right wing conspiracy: Admired an cozy with Francisco Franco at the start. The founder (a saint!) was a Hitler sympathizer and holocaust denier. In modern times Opus has been deeply connected to Leo Leonard, Clarence and Ginny Thomas, Scalia, and other court-packers, country-destroyers subverting democracy. Are they the real Illuminati pulling the strings behind everything? Of course not. But that’s how Opus Dei wants to paint accusations of meddling and abuse against them. But they are a powerful group that has made the accumulation of financial and political power a goal since day once. They’ve succeeded and undoubtedly have influence.
No, this is not a conspiracy theory or speculative book. The author does not make fantastical leaps, but presents facts and stories that paint Opus Dei in an extraordinarily negative light. If even a quarter of these are true, then the main takeaway should be that this is not a morally motivated institution, but a cult of self-serving power and harm. If this is the “work of God” (what Opus Dei translates to), then they probably bought Him too.
The subtitle promises “cult”, “dark money”, “human trafficking” and “right wing conspiracy”. The website of Opus Dei claims that these allegations are “absolutely false” and “conspiracy theories and forced speculation”. Let’s examine those four claims.
Cult: Reverence of a controlling and mystical figure (Josemaria)? Check. Absolute power of people’s lives, the information and family they have access to, and the abuse of their confessions for emotional blackmail? Check. Financial abuse of members? Check. Inability to freely leave? Double check (it’s a sin!). Maybe it isn’t a cult for all (those wealthy members in control) but yes it’s a cult.
Human trafficking: Undoubtedly yes. Not just trafficking. Slavery. Young men and women are coerced into joining under false pretenses as teenagers. Once institutionalized at shell camps and schools, meant to obscure Opus Dei’s involvement, they are trapped for their lives. Women work up to 15 hours a day, have all of their pay donated to the foundation before they see a penny of it, and have all ties to their former lives severed so that they have no way out. Without official work status or savings, there is no escape. Often, people are moved between countries to further the distance between them and freedom. These women often become victims of sexual and other abuse, and are withheld medical treatment. The group is also famous for the practice of “corporal mortification”, or mandated self-harm. It’s human trafficking whether they “consent” to joining or not, because they were misled, and often lied to with emotional and spiritual blackmail.
Dark money: since its inception, the group has made sly financial moves to position itself in charge of large financial institutions, often gaining control through illegal fraudulent means by way of conspiracy and obscurity with shell foundations and companies. They have had a decades-long strategy of targeting wealthy and successful students at top-tier institutions to have members placed in high up places, including in governments and corporations. This web of influence and money is used to further their goals of conservative catholic ideology, often illegally misusing these positions.
Right wing conspiracy: Admired an cozy with Francisco Franco at the start. The founder (a saint!) was a Hitler sympathizer and holocaust denier. In modern times Opus has been deeply connected to Leo Leonard, Clarence and Ginny Thomas, Scalia, and other court-packers, country-destroyers subverting democracy. Are they the real Illuminati pulling the strings behind everything? Of course not. But that’s how Opus Dei wants to paint accusations of meddling and abuse against them. But they are a powerful group that has made the accumulation of financial and political power a goal since day once. They’ve succeeded and undoubtedly have influence.
No, this is not a conspiracy theory or speculative book. The author does not make fantastical leaps, but presents facts and stories that paint Opus Dei in an extraordinarily negative light. If even a quarter of these are true, then the main takeaway should be that this is not a morally motivated institution, but a cult of self-serving power and harm. If this is the “work of God” (what Opus Dei translates to), then they probably bought Him too.
nickelwing_td's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Fascinating organizational politics and history, devastating conspiracies (note: not conspiracy theories, but true conspiracies), and a balanced but critical view on one of the last century’s most influential Catholic organizations. A must-read for Catholics like me and an ought-to-read for everyone else!
kpcostigan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
This book made me furious a few times, especially the treatment of women. Informative and well researched.
emily_mcclanathan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5