Friday, December 31, 2004
MORE EMAIL FROM LEE PENN
Lee sent in the link to a story in the "Tablet" about Opus Dei, written by Michael Walsh, the author of a book that has recently been reissued, titled _The Secret World of Opus Dei_.
Opus has changed since I published The Secret World of Opus Dei in 1989. One can now study its constitution. And despite the coyness regarding Ruth Kelly and her connections, it is less secretive than it was. What is most alarming in recent years is that other Catholic organisations have come to prominence which are far to the right of Opus: the Legionaries of Christ the King, and Tradición, Familia y Propriedad. In the aftermath of the Hanssen affair there was much criticism in the United States of Opus Dei’s secrecy. The organisation struck some commentators as a perfect breeding ground for espionage. But the riposte was direct. “We have just built a 17-storey headquarters in New York,” said an Opus spokesman. “How can you operate a secret society from a skyscraper at 34th and Lexington?”
True enough. But, one may wonder why, in a Church dedicated to the preferential option for the poor, a religious institute is building an HQ on what is surely some of the most expensive real estate in the world? Not to mention a skyscraper which has separate entrances for males and females. Opus has still much to learn about public relations.
