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Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church
A thrilling exposé recounting how members of Opus Dei—a secretive, ultra-conservative Catholic sect—pushed its radical agenda within the Church and around the globe, using billions of dollars siphoned from one of the world’s largest banks.
For over half a century, Banco Popular was one of the most profitable banks in the world—until one day, in 2017, when the Spanish bank suddenly collapsed overnight. When investigative journalist Gareth Gore was dispatched to report on the story, he expected to find yet another case of unbridled capitalist ambition gone wrong. Instead, he uncovered decades of deception that hid one of the most brazen cases of corporate pillaging in history, perpetrated by a group of men sworn to celibacy and self-flagellation who had secretly controlled Popular and abused their positions there to help spread Opus Dei to every corner of the world.
Drawing on unparalleled access to bank records, insider accounts, and exclusive interviews with whistle-blowers from within Opus Dei, Gore reveals how money from the bank was used to lure unsuspecting recruits—some of them only children—into a life of servitude. He also tracks the ascent of Opus Dei within the United States, exposing its role in bankrolling many right-wing causes, including the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
In an era of disinformation and deep fakes, here is a real-life conspiracy which hid in plain sight for more than sixty years. Gore tells a shocking story of money and power that spans decades and continents. Documenting Opus Dei’s secret history for the first time, this thrilling work of investigative storytelling raises important questions about the dark forces that shape our society.
For over half a century, Banco Popular was one of the most profitable banks in the world—until one day, in 2017, when the Spanish bank suddenly collapsed overnight. When investigative journalist Gareth Gore was dispatched to report on the story, he expected to find yet another case of unbridled capitalist ambition gone wrong. Instead, he uncovered decades of deception that hid one of the most brazen cases of corporate pillaging in history, perpetrated by a group of men sworn to celibacy and self-flagellation who had secretly controlled Popular and abused their positions there to help spread Opus Dei to every corner of the world.
Drawing on unparalleled access to bank records, insider accounts, and exclusive interviews with whistle-blowers from within Opus Dei, Gore reveals how money from the bank was used to lure unsuspecting recruits—some of them only children—into a life of servitude. He also tracks the ascent of Opus Dei within the United States, exposing its role in bankrolling many right-wing causes, including the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
In an era of disinformation and deep fakes, here is a real-life conspiracy which hid in plain sight for more than sixty years. Gore tells a shocking story of money and power that spans decades and continents. Documenting Opus Dei’s secret history for the first time, this thrilling work of investigative storytelling raises important questions about the dark forces that shape our society.
447 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 8, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 211 reviews
October 5, 2024
Be Very Afraid
While the majority of the book deals with Opus Dei’s infiltration into the inner workings of Banco Popular and its siphoning off of the bank’s profits eventually leading to the bank’s demise, it offers a cautionary tale about this institution. A strong supporter of Franco ( Opus Dei supernumeraries held half of the cabinet positions), its fascist, anti democratic tendencies are now apparent in the U.S. Leonard Leo, a supernumerary, has engineered a conservative takeover of the Supreme Court that has overturned Roe v Wade, weakened affirmative action, voting rights, and climate change, as well as strengthening gun rights and corporate rights. Peter Thiel is a close ally, and if his protege, JD Vance, wins the vice presidency and then the presidency, democracy will be threatened. Thiel has made no secret of his anti democratic tendencies and JDVance’s rhetoric is straight out of Opus Dei’s playbook.
While the majority of the book deals with Opus Dei’s infiltration into the inner workings of Banco Popular and its siphoning off of the bank’s profits eventually leading to the bank’s demise, it offers a cautionary tale about this institution. A strong supporter of Franco ( Opus Dei supernumeraries held half of the cabinet positions), its fascist, anti democratic tendencies are now apparent in the U.S. Leonard Leo, a supernumerary, has engineered a conservative takeover of the Supreme Court that has overturned Roe v Wade, weakened affirmative action, voting rights, and climate change, as well as strengthening gun rights and corporate rights. Peter Thiel is a close ally, and if his protege, JD Vance, wins the vice presidency and then the presidency, democracy will be threatened. Thiel has made no secret of his anti democratic tendencies and JDVance’s rhetoric is straight out of Opus Dei’s playbook.
October 10, 2024
Excellent journalistic work that reads like a thriller. It starts in the early XX century Spain and ends in the present, focusing mostly on the USA. After all, as the author says, “not since the times of Franco was Opus Dei so close to power [as with the US Republican-MAGA party today]”.
The book is very much worth reading if you follow politics, history, religion, true crime or all of the above.
I also think that the author was very graceful with the Vatican and many of the people manipulated by Opus Dei, offering a faint hope of reforming these institutions. While it’s only polite and true, my reading of the book is clear: these organizations are beyond fixing, because their most powerful and zealous forces are precisely the problematic ones. Take them out, and not much will be left. That would still be an improvement though.
The book is very much worth reading if you follow politics, history, religion, true crime or all of the above.
I also think that the author was very graceful with the Vatican and many of the people manipulated by Opus Dei, offering a faint hope of reforming these institutions. While it’s only polite and true, my reading of the book is clear: these organizations are beyond fixing, because their most powerful and zealous forces are precisely the problematic ones. Take them out, and not much will be left. That would still be an improvement though.
October 4, 2024
While there may be sections of this book that have some merits, the author is a non-religious, British finance journalist who imagines that he’s cracked some vast web of conspiracies involving Catholicism, Spanish politics, American politics, etc. when he lacks much understanding of any of those. That leaves a moderately informed reader thinking of the “That’s not how any of this works!” meme through much of the book.
The author also has a conspiratorial mindset that’s apparent throughout the book. For the sort of thinking he uses, consider a tweet thread he posted today that starts with “So, what are the ties between JD Vance and the Opus Dei network that has penetrated Washington, DC over the past few years?” and proceeds to spell out Vance’s extensive ties, like having written a forward for a book by someone who doesn’t seem to be “a member” but likes Opus Dei, having worked for a guy who, while nonreligious himself, is friends with an Opus Dei priest, and having taken a speaking gig at an event whose attendees mostly weren’t Opus Dei but where there were some OD members in attendance. The result is the It’s Always Sunny conspiracy theory meme.
He claims that when he set out to write this book, he planned for it to be a book about the failure of Banco Popular. If his theory that that was caused by an ego battle between OD supporters and supporters of the Legionaries of Christ is correct, he should have written that book, because that would be wildly entertaining. But, instead, he never really stuck the landing in explaining that one and spent huge chunks of the book trying to connect things that have nothing to do to each other.
An author who understood the issue better would have known to leave out the significant portions of the book that are nonsensical. He or she might have known where to zoom in or zoom out to include a broader context (e.g., maybe consider the broader context of the American right or the broader context of the canonical treatment of “new ecclesial movements,” or zooming into specific people’s actions rather than treating all of the actions of a think tank as related to one of its employees).
It does cover some specific cases of abuse that seem real, and if the added visibility brings comfort to a victim, sets the wheels in motion for greater justice, or leads to better safeguards for the future, that would be a blessing. But, on the whole, the book should be read very skeptically if at all.
The author also has a conspiratorial mindset that’s apparent throughout the book. For the sort of thinking he uses, consider a tweet thread he posted today that starts with “So, what are the ties between JD Vance and the Opus Dei network that has penetrated Washington, DC over the past few years?” and proceeds to spell out Vance’s extensive ties, like having written a forward for a book by someone who doesn’t seem to be “a member” but likes Opus Dei, having worked for a guy who, while nonreligious himself, is friends with an Opus Dei priest, and having taken a speaking gig at an event whose attendees mostly weren’t Opus Dei but where there were some OD members in attendance. The result is the It’s Always Sunny conspiracy theory meme.
He claims that when he set out to write this book, he planned for it to be a book about the failure of Banco Popular. If his theory that that was caused by an ego battle between OD supporters and supporters of the Legionaries of Christ is correct, he should have written that book, because that would be wildly entertaining. But, instead, he never really stuck the landing in explaining that one and spent huge chunks of the book trying to connect things that have nothing to do to each other.
An author who understood the issue better would have known to leave out the significant portions of the book that are nonsensical. He or she might have known where to zoom in or zoom out to include a broader context (e.g., maybe consider the broader context of the American right or the broader context of the canonical treatment of “new ecclesial movements,” or zooming into specific people’s actions rather than treating all of the actions of a think tank as related to one of its employees).
It does cover some specific cases of abuse that seem real, and if the added visibility brings comfort to a victim, sets the wheels in motion for greater justice, or leads to better safeguards for the future, that would be a blessing. But, on the whole, the book should be read very skeptically if at all.
October 10, 2024
I listened to Opus on Audible, a book about Opus Dei. It is not only a story of a cult-like movement that started in Spain and has grown inside the Catholic Church since the 1930s, but a cautionary tale of what this same religious cult having gone international, can do to influence our American life, politics, and laws. Sheds light on what’s going on with a big sector of hard-right religion influencers behind the anti-abortion movement and the LGBTQ community. Well worth the read.
October 6, 2024
Los libros de no ficción tienen su ejemplo reciente más sobresaliente en el magnífco "No digas nada" de Patrick Radden Keefe.
A una narración agil y sugerente -parece una novela- se suma un rigor, demostrado por el autor a base referencias y notas a pie de página para asegurar que nada de lo que se dice está inventado (pues lo dijo alguien y se tienen varias fuentes) y está contrastado (se ha comprobado por el testimonio de otras personas).
Nada hay de este rigor ni contraste con la verdad en el libro "Opus" del periodista inglés Gareth Gore. Gore tiene la habilidad de captar la atención del lector construyendo los capítulos con inteligencia. El autor parte de una idea, un marco mental del que está convencido y que le inspira a la hora de unir los puntos en su historia de forma -siendo generosos- delirante. Gire demuestra un talante obsesivo y cegador quizá motivado por una fuerte ideología, que explica el libro que acaba de publicar sobre el Opus Dei.
El libro contiene todas las prácticas habituales de la manipulación. Dice cosas que parcialmente son ciertas, pero que no reflejan la verdad ni se acercan a transmitirla una imagen veraz. Probablemente, no haya mala intención: sencillamente es incapaz -quizá por esa obsesión y pulsión ideológica que termina siendo totalitaria- de admitir que una cosa son los errores y otra las intenciones en una institución como el Opus Dei: para Gore los errores SON las intenciones que demuestran que el Opus Dei es una malvada y perversa organización que persigue el control de la sociedad a cualquier precio y sin importar los límites morales o éticos que tenga que traspasar para conseguirlo.
No hay en el libre de Gore ninguna intención, ni siquiera apariencia, de buscar la objetividad. Parte de un marco de interpretación, el suyo, tan ideológico, que no le permite abrir su investigación a otras cuestiones que le harían reconsiderar las afirmaciones de trazo grueso que hace. Y, lo peor, y en esto el autor demuestra poco rigor y honestidad, no incluye casi ninguno de los comentarios o información que desde el OD se le han aportado. Es más, según han explicado desde el OD en su comunicado, el autor engañó y mintió justificando su investigación en una biografía sobre Luis Valls que terminó siendo, sin más, otro libro contra el Opus Dei. No es la mejor carta de presentación para una supuesta investigación que busca la verdad.
Si Gore tenía algún prestigio o reputación como periodista, con este libro la ha perdido, salvo que tenga la honradez de rectificar en muchas de sus afirmaciones.
Son muchas las críticas que se pueden hacer a los miembros del OD y a los que han dirigido y dirigen la institución. Como en toda realidad organizativa que se desarrolla en el tiempo hay -y habrá errores, malos enfoques, prioridades mal calibradas, y la historia lo juzgará como ya lo está haciendo. Pero este libro es un flaco favor a cualquier estudio riguroso y honesto.
A una narración agil y sugerente -parece una novela- se suma un rigor, demostrado por el autor a base referencias y notas a pie de página para asegurar que nada de lo que se dice está inventado (pues lo dijo alguien y se tienen varias fuentes) y está contrastado (se ha comprobado por el testimonio de otras personas).
Nada hay de este rigor ni contraste con la verdad en el libro "Opus" del periodista inglés Gareth Gore. Gore tiene la habilidad de captar la atención del lector construyendo los capítulos con inteligencia. El autor parte de una idea, un marco mental del que está convencido y que le inspira a la hora de unir los puntos en su historia de forma -siendo generosos- delirante. Gire demuestra un talante obsesivo y cegador quizá motivado por una fuerte ideología, que explica el libro que acaba de publicar sobre el Opus Dei.
El libro contiene todas las prácticas habituales de la manipulación. Dice cosas que parcialmente son ciertas, pero que no reflejan la verdad ni se acercan a transmitirla una imagen veraz. Probablemente, no haya mala intención: sencillamente es incapaz -quizá por esa obsesión y pulsión ideológica que termina siendo totalitaria- de admitir que una cosa son los errores y otra las intenciones en una institución como el Opus Dei: para Gore los errores SON las intenciones que demuestran que el Opus Dei es una malvada y perversa organización que persigue el control de la sociedad a cualquier precio y sin importar los límites morales o éticos que tenga que traspasar para conseguirlo.
No hay en el libre de Gore ninguna intención, ni siquiera apariencia, de buscar la objetividad. Parte de un marco de interpretación, el suyo, tan ideológico, que no le permite abrir su investigación a otras cuestiones que le harían reconsiderar las afirmaciones de trazo grueso que hace. Y, lo peor, y en esto el autor demuestra poco rigor y honestidad, no incluye casi ninguno de los comentarios o información que desde el OD se le han aportado. Es más, según han explicado desde el OD en su comunicado, el autor engañó y mintió justificando su investigación en una biografía sobre Luis Valls que terminó siendo, sin más, otro libro contra el Opus Dei. No es la mejor carta de presentación para una supuesta investigación que busca la verdad.
Si Gore tenía algún prestigio o reputación como periodista, con este libro la ha perdido, salvo que tenga la honradez de rectificar en muchas de sus afirmaciones.
Son muchas las críticas que se pueden hacer a los miembros del OD y a los que han dirigido y dirigen la institución. Como en toda realidad organizativa que se desarrolla en el tiempo hay -y habrá errores, malos enfoques, prioridades mal calibradas, y la historia lo juzgará como ya lo está haciendo. Pero este libro es un flaco favor a cualquier estudio riguroso y honesto.
October 14, 2024
This is a remarkable book that very much shows what is going on with American politics currently. The influence of these mightier/holier than thou low life's is very frightening. If you Google the author, you will see a response from Opus Dei that is so weak it is laughable. By not saying something in their response is very telling. What about the Pedos Opus Dei? No comment.
Gareth Gore has done a very credible job giving the history of this conniving group and follow their tale right up to current politics with Thomas, Barre and Alito.
I am an expired catholic and appreciate how Mr. Gore has made my decision so much clearer.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who questions their catholic faith and wants to get a picture of how deceitful they are.
Gareth Gore has done a very credible job giving the history of this conniving group and follow their tale right up to current politics with Thomas, Barre and Alito.
I am an expired catholic and appreciate how Mr. Gore has made my decision so much clearer.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who questions their catholic faith and wants to get a picture of how deceitful they are.
October 17, 2024
A Must-Read for American voters.
November 24, 2024
As the sister of an Opus Dei priest, I have always struggled and disagreed with his theology. This book opened my eyes to the twisted life he has lived since being recruited as a high school junior. We broke off our relationship after the recent presidential election and I now see what a losing battle it has been to try to have him see the harm that our new repeat president will inflict on the world. I weep for what Opus Dei took away from our family over the last 65 years.
October 13, 2024
Opus Dei is a cult-like group within the Catholic Church. They have a great deal of political influence especially in the USA, where one of their members helped engineer the current block of six conservative judges on the US Supreme Court. They have been fueled by plenty of dark money with no shortage of secrecy.
January 12, 2025
I saw my friend Kristi read this, looked interesting, so decided to try. Your typical bad behaviour from the Catholic church. Maybe I’m too cynical, but nothing surprises me anymore. To be fair, many people in the church did not trust, and were also disgusted by Opus’s behaviour.
If you’re not too interested in the church and the inner organizations, not worth reading, but Opus is responsible for the spread of incredibly conservative Catholic dogma and trying to impose a lot of it on societies around the world.
If you’re not too interested in the church and the inner organizations, not worth reading, but Opus is responsible for the spread of incredibly conservative Catholic dogma and trying to impose a lot of it on societies around the world.
October 21, 2024
El periodista de investigación Gareth Gore llegó a España en 2017 para informar sobre el inesperado derrumbe del Banco Popular (1926-2017), considerado hasta entonces como una de las entidades más rentables del mundo. Lo que había de ser una crónica más sobre las consecuencias desastrosas de una ambición capitalista sin limites, se convirtió en el relato de uno de los saqueos empresariales más grandes y de mayores implicaciones en la historia de España.
Durante décadas, un grupo de hombres relacionados abierta (o secretamente) con la Prelatura Personal del Opus Dei (hasta ahora la única en la Iglesia Católica) habría controlado secretamente el banco para financiar la extensión y la influencia del grupo religioso a todos los rincones del mundo. ¿Una fábula? Juzgue el lector después de terminar el libro. Lo que sí está claro es que la investigación que hace Gore permite al lector asomarse a la historia del Opus Dei, desde su fundación y su consolidación durante la dictadura de Francisco Franco (1939-1975), hasta el sol de hoy, pero lo hace desde una perspectiva distinta a la habitual, es decir, a la oficial, a la que parte siempre de los historiadores u oficinas de información del Opus Dei.
En este libro autor explica, entre otras muchas cosas, cómo los lazos financieros con grandes empresas y gobiernos han permitido acumular al Opus Dei miles de millones en activos. Las citas son más que abundantes.
El trato a las mujeres dentro de la organización es otro de los temas dificiles que aborda el autor, especialmente desde la denuncia presentada en 2021 por 43 exnumerarias auxiliares argentinas, que acusaron a la Obra de delitos como la trata de menores y la esclavitud, además de abusos físicos y psicológicos. Conviene no olvidar que las Naciones Unidas ha definido la trata de personas como la captación, transporte o recepción de personas mediante amenazas, fuerza o coacción con fines de explotación, aunque la víctima haya dado su consentimiento.
Ahora que el Opus Dei se aproxima a su centenario, su futuro es más incierto que en ningún otro momento desde la guerra civil española. Las recientes acusaciones que ha recibido no son nada nuevo, pero llegan en un momento en que el papa Francisco está tratando de impulsar una reforma radical de la Iglesia —poniendo fin a años de corrupción, mala gestión y encubrimiento sistemático de abusos— con la esperanza de devolverla a su misión original. Es imposible pasar por alto los claros abusos cometidos por el Opus Dei en nombre de la Iglesia y de Dios.
Sin duda la parte más interesante del libro está en la explicación que da el autor sobre cómo la Obra ha ido posicionándose en la extrema radical norteamericana y la serie de contactos y logros que ha obtenido en esos ambientes.
Como conclusión podríamos utilizar las mismas palabras de Gareth Gore: "La Iglesia se halla en una encrucijada. Si el Opus Dei no logra reformarse en la línea indicada por Francisco, el Vaticano podría intervenir. Una frase del segundo motu proprio de agosto de 2023 sienta las bases precisamente para ese curso de acción. El primer artículo del decreto estipula que el papa puede aprobar —o emitir— nuevos estatutos para las prelaturas personales. Ese parece ser el siguiente paso más probable. Teniendo en cuenta lo arraigada que está la postura del Opus Dei de mantener la autoridad sobre sus miembros, existen pocas posibilidades de que el movimiento sea capaz de imponer los cambios que quiere el Vaticano. Una intervención, como ya ha ocurrido con otros elementos de la Iglesia católica, como los Legionarios de Cristo, parece por tanto inevitable. Aunque tampoco sería la panacea, en el sentido de que previsiblemente no erradicaría por completo a las fuerzas del Opus Dei que han permitido que el abuso y el control se enconen durante décadas". Ya se verá qué pasa, por lo pronto, el libro resulta muy interesante para quienes hemos estado cerca del Opus Die y hemos visto cómo se parte ahi el bacalao / AE
Durante décadas, un grupo de hombres relacionados abierta (o secretamente) con la Prelatura Personal del Opus Dei (hasta ahora la única en la Iglesia Católica) habría controlado secretamente el banco para financiar la extensión y la influencia del grupo religioso a todos los rincones del mundo. ¿Una fábula? Juzgue el lector después de terminar el libro. Lo que sí está claro es que la investigación que hace Gore permite al lector asomarse a la historia del Opus Dei, desde su fundación y su consolidación durante la dictadura de Francisco Franco (1939-1975), hasta el sol de hoy, pero lo hace desde una perspectiva distinta a la habitual, es decir, a la oficial, a la que parte siempre de los historiadores u oficinas de información del Opus Dei.
En este libro autor explica, entre otras muchas cosas, cómo los lazos financieros con grandes empresas y gobiernos han permitido acumular al Opus Dei miles de millones en activos. Las citas son más que abundantes.
El trato a las mujeres dentro de la organización es otro de los temas dificiles que aborda el autor, especialmente desde la denuncia presentada en 2021 por 43 exnumerarias auxiliares argentinas, que acusaron a la Obra de delitos como la trata de menores y la esclavitud, además de abusos físicos y psicológicos. Conviene no olvidar que las Naciones Unidas ha definido la trata de personas como la captación, transporte o recepción de personas mediante amenazas, fuerza o coacción con fines de explotación, aunque la víctima haya dado su consentimiento.
Ahora que el Opus Dei se aproxima a su centenario, su futuro es más incierto que en ningún otro momento desde la guerra civil española. Las recientes acusaciones que ha recibido no son nada nuevo, pero llegan en un momento en que el papa Francisco está tratando de impulsar una reforma radical de la Iglesia —poniendo fin a años de corrupción, mala gestión y encubrimiento sistemático de abusos— con la esperanza de devolverla a su misión original. Es imposible pasar por alto los claros abusos cometidos por el Opus Dei en nombre de la Iglesia y de Dios.
Sin duda la parte más interesante del libro está en la explicación que da el autor sobre cómo la Obra ha ido posicionándose en la extrema radical norteamericana y la serie de contactos y logros que ha obtenido en esos ambientes.
Como conclusión podríamos utilizar las mismas palabras de Gareth Gore: "La Iglesia se halla en una encrucijada. Si el Opus Dei no logra reformarse en la línea indicada por Francisco, el Vaticano podría intervenir. Una frase del segundo motu proprio de agosto de 2023 sienta las bases precisamente para ese curso de acción. El primer artículo del decreto estipula que el papa puede aprobar —o emitir— nuevos estatutos para las prelaturas personales. Ese parece ser el siguiente paso más probable. Teniendo en cuenta lo arraigada que está la postura del Opus Dei de mantener la autoridad sobre sus miembros, existen pocas posibilidades de que el movimiento sea capaz de imponer los cambios que quiere el Vaticano. Una intervención, como ya ha ocurrido con otros elementos de la Iglesia católica, como los Legionarios de Cristo, parece por tanto inevitable. Aunque tampoco sería la panacea, en el sentido de que previsiblemente no erradicaría por completo a las fuerzas del Opus Dei que han permitido que el abuso y el control se enconen durante décadas". Ya se verá qué pasa, por lo pronto, el libro resulta muy interesante para quienes hemos estado cerca del Opus Die y hemos visto cómo se parte ahi el bacalao / AE
June 1, 2025
4.5 stars, with the disclaimer than you probably wouldn’t rate it this highly unless you already had some sort of interest in Opus Dei / organized religion / Catholicism. This book is DENSE and very well-researched.
July 26, 2025
A sect of some of the most annoying and cruel people to have lived in the last 100 years, you really understand to urge to make something like Andres Serrano’s “Piss Christ” just to make them enraged.
The last 10 pages are like, “Sure hope Pope Francis doesn’t die so he continues to ruin them!” and lol, sorry everyone.
The last 10 pages are like, “Sure hope Pope Francis doesn’t die so he continues to ruin them!” and lol, sorry everyone.
November 15, 2024
yikes.
November 26, 2024
I've known people who belong(ed) to this cult inside the Catholic Church. They are generally kind people albeit naive about the group as a whole. This book underlines my disgust with the conservative bent of the American Catholic Church. The facts presented here turn my stomach.
The book is well-written, easy to read, and keeps the countless names straight so I as the reader could clearly understand the characters and their relationships. Very well done.
The book is well-written, easy to read, and keeps the countless names straight so I as the reader could clearly understand the characters and their relationships. Very well done.
January 12, 2025
If you’re interested in the full history of the secretive ultra-conservative Catholic sect known as Opus Dei, then you need to check out Opus by Gareth Gore. Though less exciting than I’d hoped, it does a thorough job of explaining how Opus Dei spread throughout the world and the influence it’s had from Spain to the United States.
October 5, 2024
Truly terrifying to confirm suspicions that “someone” is pulling the strings.
October 5, 2025
Opus exposes the unholy alliance between religious fundamentalism and billionaire capital, revealing how faith and finance have become interlocked instruments in reshaping society toward oligarchic control. What emerges from the book is a disturbing portrait of how religious fervor and corporate greed form a mutually beneficial, yet morally bankrupt, coalition.
At the heart of this partnership, religious groups provide moral legitimacy and mobilize a large, loyal voter base. They serve as the emotional and ethical face of an agenda that, in reality, serves the economic elite. In return, billionaires and corporate interests offer the money, strategic infrastructure, and media amplification necessary to turn ideology into power. It’s a transactional relationship disguised as a moral crusade: the wealthy secure laws and policies favoring deregulation, tax cuts, and union suppression, while religious groups gain support for their cultural battles — from restricting abortion and same-sex rights to controlling what children learn in schools.
Religion, in this context, becomes a Trojan horse — a tool of emotional persuasion that cloaks material exploitation. Wrapped in the language of faith, policies that would otherwise be recognized as serving the wealthy few are reframed as sacred duties or “family values.” The billionaire donor class can’t openly say, “We want policies that increase our wealth and reduce your bargaining power,” so they moralize the message. The faithful are persuaded to defend the very structures that entrench their economic insecurity, mistaking obedience for virtue.
What Opus ultimately reveals is not capitalism in its genuine, competitive sense, but a mutation of it — a form of economic domination where competition collapses and choice evaporates. In true capitalism, markets reward innovation and efficiency. But in this captured economy, monopolies and oligopolies reign, prices soar in essential sectors like healthcare, housing, and education, and consumers are left powerless. This is not the “invisible hand” of Adam Smith but rent-seeking — the extraction of wealth without value creation, achieved through control, consolidation, and regulation written by the powerful for the powerful. Political theorist Sheldon Wolin called this condition “inverted totalitarianism” — not a dictatorship, but a system where corporate and state power fuse, democracy becomes theater, and citizens are managed rather than represented.
The economic dimension of this system produces a subtler form of social control. Long work hours, debt, and exhaustion leave citizens too tired to protest, too distracted to educate themselves, and too anxious to imagine alternatives. This exhaustion is not incidental; it functions as a quiet mechanism of control. Financial insecurity breeds obedience — a population too burdened to challenge the status quo.
Perhaps the most tragic irony lies in the distortion of religious teachings themselves. Traditions that once preached compassion, humility, and justice have been hollowed out and refashioned into instruments of hierarchy and greed. The prosperity gospel and capitalist moralism replace empathy with exploitation, convincing believers that inequality is divine will and that wealth is a sign of grace. It is a moral inversion — the worship of power masquerading as piety.
Opus stands as a searing exploration of this phenomenon. It exposes how billionaire power and religious dogma have intertwined to create a new form of oligarchy, one that erodes democracy, undermines human dignity, and turns faith into a mechanism of control. The book’s warning is clear: when religion becomes a mask for power and capitalism devolves into rent-seeking oligarchy, the result is not a moral revival — it is the quiet suffocation of freedom itself.
4.2
At the heart of this partnership, religious groups provide moral legitimacy and mobilize a large, loyal voter base. They serve as the emotional and ethical face of an agenda that, in reality, serves the economic elite. In return, billionaires and corporate interests offer the money, strategic infrastructure, and media amplification necessary to turn ideology into power. It’s a transactional relationship disguised as a moral crusade: the wealthy secure laws and policies favoring deregulation, tax cuts, and union suppression, while religious groups gain support for their cultural battles — from restricting abortion and same-sex rights to controlling what children learn in schools.
Religion, in this context, becomes a Trojan horse — a tool of emotional persuasion that cloaks material exploitation. Wrapped in the language of faith, policies that would otherwise be recognized as serving the wealthy few are reframed as sacred duties or “family values.” The billionaire donor class can’t openly say, “We want policies that increase our wealth and reduce your bargaining power,” so they moralize the message. The faithful are persuaded to defend the very structures that entrench their economic insecurity, mistaking obedience for virtue.
What Opus ultimately reveals is not capitalism in its genuine, competitive sense, but a mutation of it — a form of economic domination where competition collapses and choice evaporates. In true capitalism, markets reward innovation and efficiency. But in this captured economy, monopolies and oligopolies reign, prices soar in essential sectors like healthcare, housing, and education, and consumers are left powerless. This is not the “invisible hand” of Adam Smith but rent-seeking — the extraction of wealth without value creation, achieved through control, consolidation, and regulation written by the powerful for the powerful. Political theorist Sheldon Wolin called this condition “inverted totalitarianism” — not a dictatorship, but a system where corporate and state power fuse, democracy becomes theater, and citizens are managed rather than represented.
The economic dimension of this system produces a subtler form of social control. Long work hours, debt, and exhaustion leave citizens too tired to protest, too distracted to educate themselves, and too anxious to imagine alternatives. This exhaustion is not incidental; it functions as a quiet mechanism of control. Financial insecurity breeds obedience — a population too burdened to challenge the status quo.
Perhaps the most tragic irony lies in the distortion of religious teachings themselves. Traditions that once preached compassion, humility, and justice have been hollowed out and refashioned into instruments of hierarchy and greed. The prosperity gospel and capitalist moralism replace empathy with exploitation, convincing believers that inequality is divine will and that wealth is a sign of grace. It is a moral inversion — the worship of power masquerading as piety.
Opus stands as a searing exploration of this phenomenon. It exposes how billionaire power and religious dogma have intertwined to create a new form of oligarchy, one that erodes democracy, undermines human dignity, and turns faith into a mechanism of control. The book’s warning is clear: when religion becomes a mask for power and capitalism devolves into rent-seeking oligarchy, the result is not a moral revival — it is the quiet suffocation of freedom itself.
4.2
April 21, 2025
“Si Francisco fallece antes de que se produzca una reforma real —y si su sucesor se muestra poco dispuesto o incapaz de continuar con su iniciativa—, el Opus Dei saldrá vigorizado y desafiante de su experiencia cercana a la muerte. Revitalizado y respaldado por su ejército de donantes, el movimiento seguirá adelante con sus planes de recristianizar el planeta, tanto si eso es lo que la gente quiere como si no. El matrimonio homosexual, la educación laica, la investigación científica y las artes se convertirán rápidamente en sus próximos objetivos. Dada la inesperada victoria de sus partidarios en la cuestión del aborto, es muy posible que el Opus Dei y sus simpatizantes cosechen victorias igualmente devastadoras en esos ámbitos.”
😬😬
😬😬
July 14, 2025
no es mi tipo de lectura entonces tengo poco que decir. es más un libro informativo, un extenso trabajo periodistico sobre el aspecto economico del opus
bastante interesante la verdad ! un poco loco que estas cosas pasen en la vida real
bastante interesante la verdad ! un poco loco que estas cosas pasen en la vida real
October 31, 2024
vīlos Jānī Pāvilā II, kurš šai sērgai ļāva izplatīties. un vēl jau Trampa atbalstītāji, kam šis devis nopietnu un ticīgu cilvēku auru.
January 26, 2025
Didn’t think I could hate religion more, this book did the trick! 10/10 recommend if you want to see the church’s little hands all over US politics and education
May 24, 2025
M’ha encantat! un llibre molt interessant on es veu tota la investigació que l'autor ha fet sobre l’Opus Dei, a partir de la caiguda del Banc Popular, una de les seves fonts de finançament. Explica moltes desconegudes per mi, i totes ben documentades amb les seves referències. Parla de diners, poder, finançament, tràfic de persones i fins i tot esclavitud. Pot ser inquietant no saber fins on arriben els seus tentacles i com intenten imposar una agenda ultra-conservadora. Revelador i molt ben explicat. Val la pena.
May 8, 2025
Reading this book is like discovering an exposé that confirms every righteous story has a hundred lives, depending on which way you spin it. Turn it upside down, for instance, and the innocent story you thought you knew so well, the story your friends had told you so benignly, suddenly has a stench to it and looks quite deformed.
This story of the money trail and financing of Opus Dei’s apostolates is written as one such upside down story.
And when you turn a man upside down, secrets otherwise hidden in his pockets fall to the ground for everyone to see; the onlookers stall with their mouths wide open.
This story of the money trail and financing of Opus Dei’s apostolates is written as one such upside down story.
And when you turn a man upside down, secrets otherwise hidden in his pockets fall to the ground for everyone to see; the onlookers stall with their mouths wide open.
July 20, 2025
ACAB but the C stands for Catholics
June 1, 2025
absolutely horrifying
June 1, 2025
Whelp, Pope Francis is dead, and any hope of meaningful reform from above died with him. Robert Langdon wasn't lying yo!
June 17, 2025
I was vaguely aware of the existence of Opus Dei, the Catholic power cult, from its portrayal in The Da Vinci Code (lol) but there was so much more than I could have realized. From their troubled founder and early alliance with Franco's fascist government to their more recent practice of slavery, high-control tactics, and enmeshment with the American Republican Party, this book covers so much.
June 15, 2025
Reading about these hardcore rightwing Spanish Catholics teaming up with Mormons and Jews to take over the US Supreme Court got me out here sounding like a god damn Freemason from 1836.
December 28, 2025
Gareth Gore’s “Opus” is an illuminating history of Opus Dei’s nearly 100 years of scandals and the challenges it faces today. As a financial journalist, Gore outlines how he uncovered the unusual funding sources and system of shell companies behind this influential conservative extremist sect of Catholicism. Beyond the financial background, he shares how the group gained adherents in Spain during Franco’s dictatorship and how the movement gained intensity and strove for legitimacy as it expanded around the globe.
Opus Dei initially started as a way for ordinary lay Catholics to have dignity in their work and rise to everyday holiness and sainthood without needing to be ordained as a member of the clergy. However, the group quickly became overwhelmed by its own hierarchy, far-right political ideology, secrecy, and adoration of the founder. Throughout its history, Opus Dei has faced allegations of alignment with fascist totalitarian regimes (various members of Franco’s cabinet), abuse (physical, sexual, spiritual) of its members, cult-like group dynamics, grooming of minors, human trafficking of domestic workers, alignment with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, and initiatives including banning of contraception and abortion, in favor of instilling ultraconservative Catholic theocracies around the world.
Opus Dei members believe they are personally called by god with a vocation to do what they say is “The Work” to serve the cause and literally strive every day to become saints and to recruit others (often friends and family members) to join. This has an odd fit within traditional Catholicism, falling somewhere in between lay ordinary Catholics and ordained clergy. If you’re in Opus Dei, you likely have the mindset that you are chosen to a higher calling than a regular run-of-the-mill parishioner. This holier-than-thou mindset and intensely obsessive religious fervor colors the foreground of their lives, far beyond the typical lived faith of normal devout Catholics. Although most Opus Dei members live and work “in society”, they live highly pressured personal lives. They live in scrupulous daily anxiety of running afoul of doing something to jeopardize their sainthood, whether it’s reading or viewing something on their media blacklists, or inadvertently doing something naughty they might need to share up the chain of command with their spiritual director. Throughout their impossible quest for personal perfection, members are directed to live in obedience and subservience, with catchphrases to “mortify” themselves for Christ, “make a sacrifice” or “offer it up” to suppress their personal problems and suffering to remain faithful to the cause. Unfortunately the sacrifices that are offered up the most by members are their own time, their own money, and their own personal relationships.
The organization requires an intense time commitment from its members to ensure obedience and adherence, referred to as “The Plan of Life”. This is habitually ingrained each morning with a commitment for members to say “Serviam” (or “I will serve” in Latin) and ends
each day with an examination of conscience to personally review any unsaintly activities they may have committed during the day. It is required for all members to have multiple hours a day spent in a combination of personal reflection, Mass, rosary, Eucharistic adoration, confession, and reading from texts written by the founder. The primary text is audaciously called “The Way”. Members each report to a senior member for regular spiritual direction on a bi-weekly basis called a “fraternal chat”, where they report on their activities from the period and can receive “fraternal corrections” to ensure they stay in line. Members also need to attend a certain amount of monthly events called “The Circle” and “Mornings/Evenings of Recollection” in addition to required annual training retreats. Significant time is also often spent on recruitment activities, particularly targeting youth, spreading influence through schools, youth programs, and universities, often under front-names that hide their Opus Dei affiliations. This extreme time commitment in addition to the secrecy they are encouraged to maintain can isolate members from friends and family who are unaffiliated with Opus Dei and in turn, drive members further into the high-pressure group.
Opus Dei also requires members’ financial commitment. There are four levels of Opus Dei affiliation and depending on the level, each of them are expected to give some or all of their salaries to the cause. Celibate “Numeraries” live in sex-segregated lodgings called “Centers” provided by Opus Dei and in turn work in various professions and give 100% of their pay to Opus Dei. Their controversial domestic workers are named “Numerary Assistants” who live with and serve the Numeraries at “the Center” in whatever country they are assigned by Opus Dei, and these assistants also give 100% back to Opus Dei… or sometimes more efficiently, just aren’t paid at all, raising concerns of modern slavery and human trafficking. How Opus Dei gets wealthy on the back of this unpaid labor makes a mockery of their beliefs about the sanctity of work. The category of “Supernumeraries” who are typically married individuals with large families living and working outside the Center are expected to give 10% or treat Opus Dei like an extra child. Semi-affiliated “Cooperators” are not technically in Opus Dei but are expected to give support through prayer… but also of course, in addition to monetary contributions. Beyond the funding extracted from its members’ salaries, until recently Opus Dei was also funded by a group of minority owners in the now-defunct Spanish bank “Banco Popular” who as Gore investigated directed millions of funds from the bank to the organization. As this source of funding dried up, it is now also largely funded through elite mega-donor ideologues in the United States.
Despite various criticisms from inside the Catholic Church, Opus Dei rose to magisterial legitimacy especially due to investing in the targeting of recruits from elite universities who gained influence in the church over time and through an ideological alignment and currying favor with Pope John Paul II, who granted Opus Dei a unique special status of “Personal Prelature”. Opus Dei’s founder and subsequent “Prelate” successors took advantage of the process to become a saint so that the founder Josemaria Escriva is literally canonized in the framework of the Church. This increased the cult-like reverence of the founder among its members, and unfortunately, Opus Dei can use this church endorsement as legitimacy to recruit further Catholics away from their parishes and into the influence of Opus Dei.
However, despite its successful worldwide growth, Opus Dei’s “church within a church” hierarchy and its extreme views appear to be losing favor among many Catholics, and prior to his death Pope Francis started issuing decrees to begin disbanding the insular hierarchy. As noted in the Afterward, “In September 2024, federal prosecutors in Argentina formally accused Opus Dei of human trafficking and other serious crimes linked to its recruitment and exploitation of numerary assistants. The charges followed a two-year investigation into the claims brought by a group of forty-three women.” As Opus Dei faces these various international lawsuits and charges of human trafficking, we await to see what actions Pope Leo will take. Gore concludes, “it is looking increasingly likely that Opus Dei will be forced to undertake radical changes. Victims, who have been calling for reform for decades, are finally being heard.” It remains an open question whether secular authorities or church hierarchy will be forced to step in first.
Opus Dei initially started as a way for ordinary lay Catholics to have dignity in their work and rise to everyday holiness and sainthood without needing to be ordained as a member of the clergy. However, the group quickly became overwhelmed by its own hierarchy, far-right political ideology, secrecy, and adoration of the founder. Throughout its history, Opus Dei has faced allegations of alignment with fascist totalitarian regimes (various members of Franco’s cabinet), abuse (physical, sexual, spiritual) of its members, cult-like group dynamics, grooming of minors, human trafficking of domestic workers, alignment with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, and initiatives including banning of contraception and abortion, in favor of instilling ultraconservative Catholic theocracies around the world.
Opus Dei members believe they are personally called by god with a vocation to do what they say is “The Work” to serve the cause and literally strive every day to become saints and to recruit others (often friends and family members) to join. This has an odd fit within traditional Catholicism, falling somewhere in between lay ordinary Catholics and ordained clergy. If you’re in Opus Dei, you likely have the mindset that you are chosen to a higher calling than a regular run-of-the-mill parishioner. This holier-than-thou mindset and intensely obsessive religious fervor colors the foreground of their lives, far beyond the typical lived faith of normal devout Catholics. Although most Opus Dei members live and work “in society”, they live highly pressured personal lives. They live in scrupulous daily anxiety of running afoul of doing something to jeopardize their sainthood, whether it’s reading or viewing something on their media blacklists, or inadvertently doing something naughty they might need to share up the chain of command with their spiritual director. Throughout their impossible quest for personal perfection, members are directed to live in obedience and subservience, with catchphrases to “mortify” themselves for Christ, “make a sacrifice” or “offer it up” to suppress their personal problems and suffering to remain faithful to the cause. Unfortunately the sacrifices that are offered up the most by members are their own time, their own money, and their own personal relationships.
The organization requires an intense time commitment from its members to ensure obedience and adherence, referred to as “The Plan of Life”. This is habitually ingrained each morning with a commitment for members to say “Serviam” (or “I will serve” in Latin) and ends
each day with an examination of conscience to personally review any unsaintly activities they may have committed during the day. It is required for all members to have multiple hours a day spent in a combination of personal reflection, Mass, rosary, Eucharistic adoration, confession, and reading from texts written by the founder. The primary text is audaciously called “The Way”. Members each report to a senior member for regular spiritual direction on a bi-weekly basis called a “fraternal chat”, where they report on their activities from the period and can receive “fraternal corrections” to ensure they stay in line. Members also need to attend a certain amount of monthly events called “The Circle” and “Mornings/Evenings of Recollection” in addition to required annual training retreats. Significant time is also often spent on recruitment activities, particularly targeting youth, spreading influence through schools, youth programs, and universities, often under front-names that hide their Opus Dei affiliations. This extreme time commitment in addition to the secrecy they are encouraged to maintain can isolate members from friends and family who are unaffiliated with Opus Dei and in turn, drive members further into the high-pressure group.
Opus Dei also requires members’ financial commitment. There are four levels of Opus Dei affiliation and depending on the level, each of them are expected to give some or all of their salaries to the cause. Celibate “Numeraries” live in sex-segregated lodgings called “Centers” provided by Opus Dei and in turn work in various professions and give 100% of their pay to Opus Dei. Their controversial domestic workers are named “Numerary Assistants” who live with and serve the Numeraries at “the Center” in whatever country they are assigned by Opus Dei, and these assistants also give 100% back to Opus Dei… or sometimes more efficiently, just aren’t paid at all, raising concerns of modern slavery and human trafficking. How Opus Dei gets wealthy on the back of this unpaid labor makes a mockery of their beliefs about the sanctity of work. The category of “Supernumeraries” who are typically married individuals with large families living and working outside the Center are expected to give 10% or treat Opus Dei like an extra child. Semi-affiliated “Cooperators” are not technically in Opus Dei but are expected to give support through prayer… but also of course, in addition to monetary contributions. Beyond the funding extracted from its members’ salaries, until recently Opus Dei was also funded by a group of minority owners in the now-defunct Spanish bank “Banco Popular” who as Gore investigated directed millions of funds from the bank to the organization. As this source of funding dried up, it is now also largely funded through elite mega-donor ideologues in the United States.
Despite various criticisms from inside the Catholic Church, Opus Dei rose to magisterial legitimacy especially due to investing in the targeting of recruits from elite universities who gained influence in the church over time and through an ideological alignment and currying favor with Pope John Paul II, who granted Opus Dei a unique special status of “Personal Prelature”. Opus Dei’s founder and subsequent “Prelate” successors took advantage of the process to become a saint so that the founder Josemaria Escriva is literally canonized in the framework of the Church. This increased the cult-like reverence of the founder among its members, and unfortunately, Opus Dei can use this church endorsement as legitimacy to recruit further Catholics away from their parishes and into the influence of Opus Dei.
However, despite its successful worldwide growth, Opus Dei’s “church within a church” hierarchy and its extreme views appear to be losing favor among many Catholics, and prior to his death Pope Francis started issuing decrees to begin disbanding the insular hierarchy. As noted in the Afterward, “In September 2024, federal prosecutors in Argentina formally accused Opus Dei of human trafficking and other serious crimes linked to its recruitment and exploitation of numerary assistants. The charges followed a two-year investigation into the claims brought by a group of forty-three women.” As Opus Dei faces these various international lawsuits and charges of human trafficking, we await to see what actions Pope Leo will take. Gore concludes, “it is looking increasingly likely that Opus Dei will be forced to undertake radical changes. Victims, who have been calling for reform for decades, are finally being heard.” It remains an open question whether secular authorities or church hierarchy will be forced to step in first.
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