Opus Dei prelate responds to those who consider the group ‘conservative, powerful and secretive’

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

“Everyone can have their own opinions and their own reasons for evaluating reality. If some people perceive it in this way, it is because there is something objective and/or subjective that can provoke this impression,” said the third successor of Saint Josemaria Escriva at the head of Opus Dei.

“Making the Work (Opus Dei) better known is partly the task of each member: to live one’s own vocation in an authentic way. It is something great and wonderful, even if I understand that a perspective of faith is necessary to understand it in depth,” added the prelate.

“However, I think that, on a human level, those who know Opus Dei closely 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.

Father Ocáriz then expressed his desire that “the diversity of the faithful of Opus Dei be recognized, and not only those who acquire a certain public importance. In this way, it would be seen that each of them strives to live the faith fully, while living with their own defects and trying to put their talents at the service of their family, 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 emphasizing that the charism of Opus Dei aims to seek God and encounter him “in ordinary life, at work, in the family, on the street,” Ocáriz recalled that St. 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 stressed.

In July 2022, Pope Francis ordered a reform of Opus Dei, by motu proprio Ad 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 was free to decide his vocation, to which the prelate replied: “Freedom is an essential condition for any vocation. Incorporation into Opus Dei is only possible from the age of 18, when one is an adult.”

“If someone thinks they have a vocation, they can begin a process of discernment beforehand, but knowing that they are not yet members of Opus Dei and always with the express permission of their parents,” the prelate continued.

“From the moment one requests admission to the Work until one’s definitive incorporation, there is a series of stages of formation, which last at least six or seven years.”

Every year, Ocáriz explains, “the person must express their desire to continue: it is not an automatic process, but it requires personal discernment and a very deep freedom.”

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.”

“Where the Church grows, Opus Dei grows too,” continued Father Ocáriz. “In particular, the number of lay men and women who, inspired by St. Josemaría, desire to seek holiness and are willing to start a family, increases.”

The prelate then deplored the decrease in the number of “people who embrace celibacy, a gift from God that is perhaps less understood today, even if 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 in Opus Dei a protocol for the protection of minors and vulnerable people, which formalizes the precautionary measures in force in the Work for decades and incorporates the most recent regulations of the Church.”

Additionally, “work is underway to create special healing and resolution channels to meet the needs of people who wish to be heard.”

Women in Opus Dei

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

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

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