Opus Dei Prelate Responds To Those Who Consider Group ‘Conservative, Powerful And Secretive’

By Walter Sánchez Silva

During his recent trip through Latin America, the prelate of Opus Dei, Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, gave an interview to the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, in which he spoke about various topics, such as the role of women, the reform ordered by Pope Francis, and a response to those who consider Opus Dei to be “conservative, powerful and secretive.”

“Everyone can have their own opinions and reasons for evaluating reality. If some people perceive it that way, it will be because there is something objective and/or subjective that can cause that impression,” said the third successor of St. Josemaría Escrivá as the head of Opus Dei.

“Making the Work [Opus Dei] better known is, in part, the task of each member: to live one’s own vocation in an authentic way. It is something great and wonderful, although I understand that a perspective of faith is required to understand it in depth,” the prelate added.

“However, I think that, on the human level, those who know Opus Dei up close will be able to perceive normal people, with virtues and defects. I would like us to be known as joyful, simple, and serene people, peaceful, with whom it is easy to make friends, people with an open and understanding mentality,” he continued.

Ocáriz then expressed his desire that “the variety of the faithful of Opus Dei be recognized, and not only the few who acquire a certain public relevance. In this way, it would be seen that each one of them struggles to live the faith to the fullest, at the same time living with their own defects and trying to put their talents at the service of their family, their friends, and society.”

The prelate also stressed that “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.”

The charism of Opus Dei and the reform of Pope Francis

After pointing out that the charism of Opus Dei aims to seek God and encounter Him “in ordinary life, at work, in the family, in the street,” Ocáriz recalled thatSt. Josemaría, the founder of the apostolate, said that “the ways of doing and saying things change, but the essence, the spirit, remains.”

“Knowing how to change, in this sense, is necessary to be faithful to a mission, but any change must be modeled from the essential, from that core that we cannot modify, because, like every charism, it is a gift from God,” he emphasized.

In July 2022, Pope Francis ordered a reform in Opus Dei, through the motu proprioAd charisma tuendum(to protect the charism), with the reform of the statutes of the apostolate, work that is carried out in coordination with the Dicastery for the Clergy in the Vatican, in an atmosphere of “dialogue and trust,” as the prelate noted in June.

Vocations in Opus Dei

In the interview, El Mercurio asked Ocáriz if a 16-year-old is free to decide his vocation, to which the prelate replied: “Freedom is an essential requirement for any vocation. Incorporation into Opus Dei is only possible at 18 years of age, when one is of legal age.”

“If someone thinks he has a vocation, he can begin a process of discernment beforehand, but knowing that he is not yet a member of Opus Dei and always with the express permission of his parents,” the prelate continued.

“From the moment that one requests admission into the Work until his definitive incorporation, there are a series of formative stages, which last at least six or seven years.”

Every year, Ocáriz explained, “the person must express his desire to continue: it’s not an automatic process, but rather it requires personal discernment and freedom in a very profound way.”

When asked about the decline in vocations in Chile, the prelate commented that “in the most secularized countries, we share the same difficulties as the rest of the Church.”

“In places where the Church is growing,” Ocáriz continued, “Opus Dei is also growing. Specifically, the number of lay men and women who, inspired by St. Josemaría, wish to seek holiness and are open to having a family is increasing.”

The prelate then lamented the decrease in “people who embrace celibacy, a gift from God that perhaps is less understood today, even though it is so enriching for the Church.”

Regarding the way in which the apostolate deals with cases of abuse, Ocáriz stressed that “since 2013 there has been a protocol in Opus Dei for the protection of minors and vulnerable people, which formalizes prudent measures that have been in place in the Work for decades and incorporates the most recent regulations of the Church.”

In addition, "work is being done to create special channels for healing and resolution to accommodate people who want to be heard.”

Women in Opus Dei

Speaking about the role of women in the Church, and in Opus Dei specifically, Ocáriz emphasized that “in recent decades, women have been expanding their space in public life, enriching it with their irreplaceable contribution. In the Church, their role has grown at all levels, including with appointments to positions of responsibility within the Vatican Curia, for example.”

“In Opus Dei, women have been in the administration from the beginning, alongside St. Josemaría and his successors, and they are autonomous with respect to men in the leadership of their apostolates.”

“As the female presence in the administration of companies or institutions grows, more women in Opus Dei, like their contemporaries, are assuming positions of responsibility, and it is wonderful to see the scope that their service can provide,” the prelate observed.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.