Author: Jeff Israely/Rome
Publication: Time Magazine
Date: October 7, 2002
As Opus Dei's founder is canonized,
Catholics wonder if the secretive lay group will one day help pick the
next Pope
This Sunday, Pope John Paul II is
set to declare the Spanish-born priest Josemaría Escrivá
a saint. The canonization ceremony in St. Peter's Square - expected to
draw some 250,000 faithful - will in effect bestow the church's most sacred
honor on the movement Escrivá founded in 1928: Opus Dei, the conservative
lay group that preaches strict Christian piety as the only path through
the storms of modern life. It will be an unusually public moment for an
organization that has long been accused of wrapping its power in a shroud
of secrecy. And the holy recognition will also fuel speculation about another
much-discussed church mystery: How much influence does Opus Dei wield in
deciding who will be the next Pope?
That question is being asked with
increasing frequency by Catholics of all ranks, as the frailty of the 82-year-old
Pontiff - who has close ties to Opus Dei - makes papal succession an urgent
topic of whispered conversation. But church secrecy renders the precise
answer unknowable. The cardinals who vote in the conclave to select a new
Pope remain forever bound by a vow of silence on all matters related to
their choice - before, during and after the sequestered election inside
the Sistine Chapel.
Make no mistake - the cardinals
themselves are thinking hard about papal succession, says vaticanista Giancarlo
Zizola, who has written several respected books on Vatican politics. "They
talk about it - with great prudence and always with great affection for
John Paul, but they do talk about it." And Opus Dei, which boasts a core
group of highly accomplished lay professionals and well-placed clergy,
is known to have the access to privately influence these scarlet-clad princes
of the church. "Opus Dei is the only group well-organized enough, working
within the power structure of the Roman Curia, [the central Vatican administration],
that can make a difference" in how cardinals vote, says Zizola.
Though Opus Dei takes pride in its
influential members and friends in the church, the idea that the group
is trying to sway a future conclave is offensive, says Archbishop Julián
Herranz, the highest ranking Opus Dei member in the Roman Curia. "There
are some who say there is an Opus Dei lobby," he says in his office overlooking
St. Peter's Square. "That lobby doesn't exist." Herranz, who has worked
in Rome for 40 years and now heads the Council for the Interpretation of
Legislative Texts, says Opus Dei has "no hidden agenda. The only policy
is the message of Christ."
Father Escrivá, who died
in 1975, founded Opus Dei (Latin for "God's Work") to promote the idea
that lay Catholics can achieve holiness in their everyday lives. Herranz
- who left behind his medical studies to join Escrivá's fledgling
movement, and eventually the priesthood, in Madrid - says the strictly
traditionalist group is based on a "very modern" idea: "Opus Dei teaches
that a religious man can't separate himself from reality."
The current Pope, who does not belong
but has supported the group since his days in Poland, has opened the gates
for Opus Dei's widespread acceptance. In 1982, John Paul bestowed on the
organization the unique status of "personal prelature," which grants Opus
Dei unusual independence from the normal church hierarchy. Today, the organization
includes some 82,000 lay members and 1,800 clergy.
But the Pope's blessing and Escrivá's
rapid rise to sainthood have not convinced some critics. Many progressives
in the church say the conservative group, with its strict adherence to
personal piety (some lay members take vows of celibacy and practice self-flagellation),
can lead to an intolerant brand of Catholicism. Others complain that the
group's tendency not to reveal its membership list fosters a climate of
secrecy and élitism. And Opus Dei suffered a p.r. setback when FBI
spy Robert Hanssen, arrested in Virginia in February of last year, turned
out to be a member.
Still, the group is trying to become
more open, and much of its basic data - such as a newsletter of activities
and a list of all its active clergy - is now easily accessible. It is here
that one can begin to measure the organization's potential influence in
shaping a future conclave. Though Opus Dei has far fewer priests than the
Jesuits (who have some 15,000), each group has the same number of clergy
working in the Curia - six. Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, considered
among the most influential laymen in the church, is a longtime member.
Bankers, politicians, and lawyers are well represented in Opus Dei chapters
around the world. The group is particularly strong in Latin America, where
the church's strength is growing and which many believe will supply John
Paul's successor.
Of course, it is the 120 or so voting-age
(under 80 years old) cardinals alone who elect the Pope. And though Opus
Dei claims just one such member - Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne of
Lima, Peru - its influence can be found among an array of other cardinals.
Some, like Vatican Secretary of State Angelo Sodano, would be more likely
to play kingmaker inside a conclave because of their pivotal vantage point
in Rome. Others, like Mexico City Archbishop Norberto Rivera Carrera and
recently named Milan Archbishop Dionigi Tettamanzi, are thought to be candidates
to become the next Pope.
Father John Wauck, a Chicago native
and Opus Dei priest who teaches at the group's Santa Croce University in
Rome, says the organization is not lobbying for a particular candidate.
But he concededs that it is inevitable that the group's members - like
other church factions - will use their access to cardinals to push their
agendas. "Whether you want to call it politics or not, Opus Dei would have
influence in that way," Wauck says. "If you're a cardinal and you think
highly of Opus Dei, their approval of someone will be a point in his favor."
Vatican expert Zizola believes the
group is focusing on a handful of potential candidates - and will do its
best to see one of them become Pope. "They are very, very powerful," he
says. John L. Allen Jr., author of the recently released book Conclave
about the papal selection process, thinks the group inevitably causes a
stir but doesn't buy the conspiracy theories, because many Opus Dei members
themselves don't agree on papal candidates. "There's no plot to hijack
the future of the church," Allen says.
Most good Catholics, regardless
of their doctrinal leanings or personality preferences, ultimately believe
that when the Sistine Chapel's doors are locked, it is the Holy Spirit
that has the final say on who becomes Pope. And the Spirit works in mysterious
ways.
