Guide on Preventing Opus Dei Infiltration
Posted by:
mjr40
()
Date: January 03, 2005 01:31PM
Guide on Preventing Opus Dei Infiltration
[www.crcnyc.net]
How to Prevent Opus Dei From Recruiting Within And Taking Over A Catholic Young Adult Group, College/University Campus Ministry Or Any Other Catholic Organization
Updated: Jan, 2003
As part of its normal modus operandi, Opus Dei attempts to infiltrate and take over other mainstream Catholic groups with the aim of turning them into recruitment fronts. Opus Dei will attempt to infiltrate both the leadership councils and the general memberships of any Catholic organization that it does not control. Such organizations can include, but are not limited to, young adult groups, CYO groups, college/university Newman Clubs, Campus Ministries, parishes, and schools. The purpose of this Guide is to provide tried and tested methods for maintaining the independence of Catholic groups and to prevent Opus Dei takeover and destruction of other organs of the Catholic Church. Please note that these methods have been sucessfully used by the young adult group Contemporary Roman Catholics (CRC), one of the largest young adult groups in Manhattan, New York City. The CRC has been over the past several years and currently is the target of an organized, intense and sustained campaign by Opus Dei to take it over and turn it into a recruitment front. However, through the effective use of these methods, the CRC has been not only been able to prevent an Opus Dei takeover, but also increase the size of its ministry, free from Opus Dei control. This Guide is being distributed under the GNU General Public License. This Guide can be customized and modified in any way to suit a particular situation to which it is being applied. Permission is granted for this Guide to be copied anywhere in the world, at any time, in any format. It has been reviewed by people who have had extensive experience with Opus Dei's modus operandi.
Please note that many of these techniques can be used against similar Catholic groups that have been reported to use cult-like mind control techniques, such as Focolare, Neo-Catechumenate, Legionaries of Chirst/Regnum Christi, Communion and Liberation, Miles Jesu
1. One of the best ways to prevent Opus Dei from getting a strong foothold in a group is to meet regularly, preferably on a weekly basis, perhaps after a 5:30 PM Mass on Sunday. The primary reason for this is to establish and sustain a core community of people who are friends and know each other well. That way Opus Dei recruiters will stand out immediately, since they will be there for only recruitment purposes, not to socialize and build a Catholic community. It is important to note that many Opus Dei recruitment fronts will meet infrequently, generally around once a month, so that people intentionally will not get to know each other well. That will give the Opus Dei recruiters the first-mover advantage to hone in on people since they will be the only organized sub-group that knows what the overall situation in the group is. By meeting only once a month, those outside of the Opus Dei orbit will find it difficult to get to know one another to provide a sustained counterweight to the Opus Dei recruiting onslaught.
2. Since Opus Dei is an elitist group, try to make many of your functions no or low cost. This will allow the maximum number of people to attend your events on a regular basis, thereby diluting any Opus Dei incursions by sheer weight of numbers. It should be noted that Opus Dei recruitment fronts generally charge high admission fees to screen out those that do not have a great deal of expendable income, as Opus Dei looks only for people with wealth.
3. As a group, try to organize labor-intensive apostolic works on a regular basis, such as painting schools, clean ups, etc. In addition to answering the call of God to serve the less fortunate, such activities also go a long way toward building up the friendships and community within of your group, which will again make it hard for Opus Dei to penetrate with it recruitment activities. Since Opus Dei is an elitist group, they generally, but not always, will be absent from such labor-intensive activities since these types of activities are considered beneath Opus Dei members and possible recruits. Opus Dei much prefers to recruit at intellectual discussion groups and talks.
4. Make independent sources of information about Opus Dei easily available to your membership on an ongoing basis. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to distribute the Sample Opus Dei Informational Flyer throughout your group. This provides a concise but informational document for people, as well as providing additional websites to look at for more information. Such information provides excellent innoculation against Opus Dei recruitment and infiltration. In addition, it provides an understanding of how Opus Dei operates. Some places on the Web with information are ODAN and dmoz.org.
5. In order to thwart Opus Dei recruitment in your group, prepare flyers with information about Opus Dei, including website links. When you see a person being targeted for recruitment, simply give the flyer to the person with the suggestion that the Opus Dei recruiter might be involved. Please feel free to use the Sample Opus Dei Informational Flyer. The key is to plant a seed in the person's mind, and let them discover more from what has been given to them.
6. DNE - DO NOT ENGAGE! Under ANY circumstances, do not engage in an argument directly any Opus Dei recruiter, representative, spokesperson or priest verbally, in writing, via email or over the phone. Opus Dei does not negotiate and sees individuals in one of two ways: recruits or enemies. In Opus Dei's mind, there is no middle ground. If one is engaged directly in an attempt to defend one's group from infiltration, Opus Dei will seek to harass and/or force you into a confrontation of some kind whereby they can go to an authority figure (such as the police, university administration, or parish pastor) say that they are the victim of harassment and intimidation. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS TRAP. Opus Dei specializes in character assassination of its enemies to destroy their reputation, knows the limits of the law and how to manipulate those limits to its advantage. Remember, Opus Dei will only respect one thing, and that is the force of the legal system. (see next point)
7. When Opus Dei is getting aggressive and intimidating and refuses to back down, (or preferably, even before) modify and mail this Cease and Desist letter to get them to back down. It is key that the letter is mailed with a record of delivery and receipt. This record is necessary to prove to the police that the person has been served a Cease and Desist Order should the person not back down after the Order has been sent. In the US, it is suggested that FedEx be used. Be sure to keep your record of delivery. Opus Dei members are under tremendous pressure to recruit new people and destroy their enemies, so please remember they will not be rational and will only back down in the face of legal force.
8. Listen to the women of your group. It has been observed that women are generally the first ones to pick up on the presence of Opus Dei within a given group. Since Opus Dei members (mostly men) are under cult-like mind control, they will generally have a very different feel to their personalities than those who are not under the influence of mind control. Women will generally describe that there is a feeling of "oddness" or "strangeness" in the room that they can't quite pinpoint. This is generally also associated with a strong sense of unease. If there are several women in your group reporting feelings like this, it is best to listen to them and investigate further as to the source. (PS - this was written by a man)
9. In a university or college environment, Opus Dei will generally view the Catholic Campus Ministry and/or Newman Club as a major recruiting target. Please note that Opus Dei does not believe in working together with the mainstream Catholic groups on campus for the betterment of the overall Catholic community. They only view mainstream groups as pools of potential Opus Dei recruits and nothing more. They will seek to siphon off as many members as they could and remove them from regular Catholic activites. Also, Opus Dei may have one or several recruitment fronts in the form of intellectual Christian and/or apologetics groups. Their mission statements may sound something like: "XYZ Group is a student organization dedicated to the study of the Christian intellectual tradition and its approach to the modern world -- the issues and ideas of the day. The members believe that the diverse approaches of Christian thinkers throughout history offer an invaluable contribution to intellectual discourse on campus. The Club is intended for any and all students, regardless of religious affiliation, interested in exploring the truth behind the moral and social issues of our Modern World without adopting the common secular practice of arbitrarily excluding the voice of Christianity from public debate."
10. In addition to focusing on Catholic campus groups, Opus Dei will also seek to recruit almost anywhere within the college community: students they work with, live with, go to classes with, etc. Some places where they are trained to find people are after daily and/or Sunday Masses, particularly those that choose to spend time alone in prayer for a few minutes afterwards. In addition, Opus Dei recruiters generally hone in on people who appear to be alone, for example, as a social function or in a dining hall. Finally, a key demographic that they look for are entering freshmen because they are new to the university enviornment, may not have any experience dealing with Opus Dei, and are also probably away from home for the first time, and therefore are vulnerable because they are looking to put down roots. A drastic change in a person's environment, such as moving away from home for the first time, can make a person much more suggestible to outside influences.
11. Opus Dei also runs a number of residence halls near college campuses around the world. The purpose of these residence halls is not to provide housing, but to provide a pool of potential recruits for Opus Dei. In the atmosphere of a residence hall run by Opus Dei, they have the opportunity to apply with maximum pressure the cultic mind-control techniques upon the non-Opus Dei residents for a sustained period of time.
12. Try to limit the number of single-sex events that your group has, such as discussion nights, talks and retreats. Single-sex events serve as a magnet for Opus Dei recruiters, since there are no people of the opposite sex to distract potential recruits. Please note that Opus Dei tries to get its members to take a vow of celibacy, so it will be naturally attracted to those who attend single sex events. Co-ed events provide additional barriers (though not innoculation) to aggressive Opus Dei recruiting.
13. Trust your instincts. If you are reading this page, then that means something is not quite right. That "something" is Opus Dei and its vicious mind-control tactics. Remember that your love of your friends and family is stronger than the proclamations of a hierarchy that has as its primary goal its own survival that says Opus Dei is a "good" thing.
14. Finally, don't give up. God gave you a mind to think, to reason, to question, to seek answers. If you are questioning Opus Dei, that means you are using the gifts God gave you for good. Remember, faith is one thing, blind obedience is quite another and they are not equal. Opus Dei is here to stay, but that does not mean you have to let them have everything their way. Opus Dei is not a form of spirituality, but a form of cult-like mind control. It is not what Catholicism or religion in general is about.
Pslam 23:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of rightousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
For thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The links and/or information on this site are provided for research, educational and informational purposes ONLY. The statements, opinions and/or conclusions drawn on the linked sites and/or on this page are not necessarily those of this website, its management, owners, employees, subcontractors or agents (hereafter collectively known as "The Company"). The Company is not responsible for the contents on this site and/or on the aformentioned linked sites. Neither does The Company necessarily endorse and/or support the views expressed by the information contained herein and/or the linked sites listed. A mention and/or listing on this site does not indicate The Company's endorsement of any organization's and/or entity's activities, reports, publications and/or programs. The Company cannot be held responsible and/or liable for any damages, real, imagined, past, present or future from the information contained on this site and/or the sites that it links to hereafter. The Company strongly respects the freedom of individuals, including, but not limited to, Catholic young adults within New York City and its surrounding areas, to make decisions regarding their own spirituality; this assumes that they are provided with proper and complete information about the different paths available.The Company is also a supporter of the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights, including the First Amendment. In particular, The Company supports the right of individuals and private entities to publish news and/or information without legal and/or extralegal interference, harassment and/or intimidation from, government and/or private non-governmental entities, including, but not limited to, religious institutions, orders, ecclesiastical groups and/or personal prelatures. This site contains articles and/or documents about often controversial and/or potentially unsafe groups, which may have generated some controversy, concern and/or interest within the Catholic young adult community in New York City and its surrounding areas. Some of these groups have been called "cults." However, the mention and/or inclusion of a group and/or a leader within this website does not define that group as a "cult" and/or an individual and/or group mentioned as either destructive and/or harmful. Instead, such inclusion simply and only reflects archived articles and/or research which is being made available to the greater Catholic young adult community in the interest of providing additional information that is not available via other sources, entities and/or institutions, including, but not limited to, religious institutions, orders, ecclesiastical groups and/or personal prelatures. All information on this page and/or its linked sites should be evaluated carefully and critically through a process of individual and independent judgment. The reader alone is solely responsible for determining the accuracy of the information on this site and/or any of the sites that it links to.
[www.crcnyc.net]
How to Prevent Opus Dei From Recruiting Within And Taking Over A Catholic Young Adult Group, College/University Campus Ministry Or Any Other Catholic Organization
Updated: Jan, 2003
As part of its normal modus operandi, Opus Dei attempts to infiltrate and take over other mainstream Catholic groups with the aim of turning them into recruitment fronts. Opus Dei will attempt to infiltrate both the leadership councils and the general memberships of any Catholic organization that it does not control. Such organizations can include, but are not limited to, young adult groups, CYO groups, college/university Newman Clubs, Campus Ministries, parishes, and schools. The purpose of this Guide is to provide tried and tested methods for maintaining the independence of Catholic groups and to prevent Opus Dei takeover and destruction of other organs of the Catholic Church. Please note that these methods have been sucessfully used by the young adult group Contemporary Roman Catholics (CRC), one of the largest young adult groups in Manhattan, New York City. The CRC has been over the past several years and currently is the target of an organized, intense and sustained campaign by Opus Dei to take it over and turn it into a recruitment front. However, through the effective use of these methods, the CRC has been not only been able to prevent an Opus Dei takeover, but also increase the size of its ministry, free from Opus Dei control. This Guide is being distributed under the GNU General Public License. This Guide can be customized and modified in any way to suit a particular situation to which it is being applied. Permission is granted for this Guide to be copied anywhere in the world, at any time, in any format. It has been reviewed by people who have had extensive experience with Opus Dei's modus operandi.
Please note that many of these techniques can be used against similar Catholic groups that have been reported to use cult-like mind control techniques, such as Focolare, Neo-Catechumenate, Legionaries of Chirst/Regnum Christi, Communion and Liberation, Miles Jesu
1. One of the best ways to prevent Opus Dei from getting a strong foothold in a group is to meet regularly, preferably on a weekly basis, perhaps after a 5:30 PM Mass on Sunday. The primary reason for this is to establish and sustain a core community of people who are friends and know each other well. That way Opus Dei recruiters will stand out immediately, since they will be there for only recruitment purposes, not to socialize and build a Catholic community. It is important to note that many Opus Dei recruitment fronts will meet infrequently, generally around once a month, so that people intentionally will not get to know each other well. That will give the Opus Dei recruiters the first-mover advantage to hone in on people since they will be the only organized sub-group that knows what the overall situation in the group is. By meeting only once a month, those outside of the Opus Dei orbit will find it difficult to get to know one another to provide a sustained counterweight to the Opus Dei recruiting onslaught.
2. Since Opus Dei is an elitist group, try to make many of your functions no or low cost. This will allow the maximum number of people to attend your events on a regular basis, thereby diluting any Opus Dei incursions by sheer weight of numbers. It should be noted that Opus Dei recruitment fronts generally charge high admission fees to screen out those that do not have a great deal of expendable income, as Opus Dei looks only for people with wealth.
3. As a group, try to organize labor-intensive apostolic works on a regular basis, such as painting schools, clean ups, etc. In addition to answering the call of God to serve the less fortunate, such activities also go a long way toward building up the friendships and community within of your group, which will again make it hard for Opus Dei to penetrate with it recruitment activities. Since Opus Dei is an elitist group, they generally, but not always, will be absent from such labor-intensive activities since these types of activities are considered beneath Opus Dei members and possible recruits. Opus Dei much prefers to recruit at intellectual discussion groups and talks.
4. Make independent sources of information about Opus Dei easily available to your membership on an ongoing basis. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to distribute the Sample Opus Dei Informational Flyer throughout your group. This provides a concise but informational document for people, as well as providing additional websites to look at for more information. Such information provides excellent innoculation against Opus Dei recruitment and infiltration. In addition, it provides an understanding of how Opus Dei operates. Some places on the Web with information are ODAN and dmoz.org.
5. In order to thwart Opus Dei recruitment in your group, prepare flyers with information about Opus Dei, including website links. When you see a person being targeted for recruitment, simply give the flyer to the person with the suggestion that the Opus Dei recruiter might be involved. Please feel free to use the Sample Opus Dei Informational Flyer. The key is to plant a seed in the person's mind, and let them discover more from what has been given to them.
6. DNE - DO NOT ENGAGE! Under ANY circumstances, do not engage in an argument directly any Opus Dei recruiter, representative, spokesperson or priest verbally, in writing, via email or over the phone. Opus Dei does not negotiate and sees individuals in one of two ways: recruits or enemies. In Opus Dei's mind, there is no middle ground. If one is engaged directly in an attempt to defend one's group from infiltration, Opus Dei will seek to harass and/or force you into a confrontation of some kind whereby they can go to an authority figure (such as the police, university administration, or parish pastor) say that they are the victim of harassment and intimidation. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS TRAP. Opus Dei specializes in character assassination of its enemies to destroy their reputation, knows the limits of the law and how to manipulate those limits to its advantage. Remember, Opus Dei will only respect one thing, and that is the force of the legal system. (see next point)
7. When Opus Dei is getting aggressive and intimidating and refuses to back down, (or preferably, even before) modify and mail this Cease and Desist letter to get them to back down. It is key that the letter is mailed with a record of delivery and receipt. This record is necessary to prove to the police that the person has been served a Cease and Desist Order should the person not back down after the Order has been sent. In the US, it is suggested that FedEx be used. Be sure to keep your record of delivery. Opus Dei members are under tremendous pressure to recruit new people and destroy their enemies, so please remember they will not be rational and will only back down in the face of legal force.
8. Listen to the women of your group. It has been observed that women are generally the first ones to pick up on the presence of Opus Dei within a given group. Since Opus Dei members (mostly men) are under cult-like mind control, they will generally have a very different feel to their personalities than those who are not under the influence of mind control. Women will generally describe that there is a feeling of "oddness" or "strangeness" in the room that they can't quite pinpoint. This is generally also associated with a strong sense of unease. If there are several women in your group reporting feelings like this, it is best to listen to them and investigate further as to the source. (PS - this was written by a man)
9. In a university or college environment, Opus Dei will generally view the Catholic Campus Ministry and/or Newman Club as a major recruiting target. Please note that Opus Dei does not believe in working together with the mainstream Catholic groups on campus for the betterment of the overall Catholic community. They only view mainstream groups as pools of potential Opus Dei recruits and nothing more. They will seek to siphon off as many members as they could and remove them from regular Catholic activites. Also, Opus Dei may have one or several recruitment fronts in the form of intellectual Christian and/or apologetics groups. Their mission statements may sound something like: "XYZ Group is a student organization dedicated to the study of the Christian intellectual tradition and its approach to the modern world -- the issues and ideas of the day. The members believe that the diverse approaches of Christian thinkers throughout history offer an invaluable contribution to intellectual discourse on campus. The Club is intended for any and all students, regardless of religious affiliation, interested in exploring the truth behind the moral and social issues of our Modern World without adopting the common secular practice of arbitrarily excluding the voice of Christianity from public debate."
10. In addition to focusing on Catholic campus groups, Opus Dei will also seek to recruit almost anywhere within the college community: students they work with, live with, go to classes with, etc. Some places where they are trained to find people are after daily and/or Sunday Masses, particularly those that choose to spend time alone in prayer for a few minutes afterwards. In addition, Opus Dei recruiters generally hone in on people who appear to be alone, for example, as a social function or in a dining hall. Finally, a key demographic that they look for are entering freshmen because they are new to the university enviornment, may not have any experience dealing with Opus Dei, and are also probably away from home for the first time, and therefore are vulnerable because they are looking to put down roots. A drastic change in a person's environment, such as moving away from home for the first time, can make a person much more suggestible to outside influences.
11. Opus Dei also runs a number of residence halls near college campuses around the world. The purpose of these residence halls is not to provide housing, but to provide a pool of potential recruits for Opus Dei. In the atmosphere of a residence hall run by Opus Dei, they have the opportunity to apply with maximum pressure the cultic mind-control techniques upon the non-Opus Dei residents for a sustained period of time.
12. Try to limit the number of single-sex events that your group has, such as discussion nights, talks and retreats. Single-sex events serve as a magnet for Opus Dei recruiters, since there are no people of the opposite sex to distract potential recruits. Please note that Opus Dei tries to get its members to take a vow of celibacy, so it will be naturally attracted to those who attend single sex events. Co-ed events provide additional barriers (though not innoculation) to aggressive Opus Dei recruiting.
13. Trust your instincts. If you are reading this page, then that means something is not quite right. That "something" is Opus Dei and its vicious mind-control tactics. Remember that your love of your friends and family is stronger than the proclamations of a hierarchy that has as its primary goal its own survival that says Opus Dei is a "good" thing.
14. Finally, don't give up. God gave you a mind to think, to reason, to question, to seek answers. If you are questioning Opus Dei, that means you are using the gifts God gave you for good. Remember, faith is one thing, blind obedience is quite another and they are not equal. Opus Dei is here to stay, but that does not mean you have to let them have everything their way. Opus Dei is not a form of spirituality, but a form of cult-like mind control. It is not what Catholicism or religion in general is about.
Pslam 23:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of rightousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
For thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The links and/or information on this site are provided for research, educational and informational purposes ONLY. The statements, opinions and/or conclusions drawn on the linked sites and/or on this page are not necessarily those of this website, its management, owners, employees, subcontractors or agents (hereafter collectively known as "The Company"). The Company is not responsible for the contents on this site and/or on the aformentioned linked sites. Neither does The Company necessarily endorse and/or support the views expressed by the information contained herein and/or the linked sites listed. A mention and/or listing on this site does not indicate The Company's endorsement of any organization's and/or entity's activities, reports, publications and/or programs. The Company cannot be held responsible and/or liable for any damages, real, imagined, past, present or future from the information contained on this site and/or the sites that it links to hereafter. The Company strongly respects the freedom of individuals, including, but not limited to, Catholic young adults within New York City and its surrounding areas, to make decisions regarding their own spirituality; this assumes that they are provided with proper and complete information about the different paths available.The Company is also a supporter of the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights, including the First Amendment. In particular, The Company supports the right of individuals and private entities to publish news and/or information without legal and/or extralegal interference, harassment and/or intimidation from, government and/or private non-governmental entities, including, but not limited to, religious institutions, orders, ecclesiastical groups and/or personal prelatures. This site contains articles and/or documents about often controversial and/or potentially unsafe groups, which may have generated some controversy, concern and/or interest within the Catholic young adult community in New York City and its surrounding areas. Some of these groups have been called "cults." However, the mention and/or inclusion of a group and/or a leader within this website does not define that group as a "cult" and/or an individual and/or group mentioned as either destructive and/or harmful. Instead, such inclusion simply and only reflects archived articles and/or research which is being made available to the greater Catholic young adult community in the interest of providing additional information that is not available via other sources, entities and/or institutions, including, but not limited to, religious institutions, orders, ecclesiastical groups and/or personal prelatures. All information on this page and/or its linked sites should be evaluated carefully and critically through a process of individual and independent judgment. The reader alone is solely responsible for determining the accuracy of the information on this site and/or any of the sites that it links to.
Guide on Preventing Opus Dei Infiltration
Posted by:
wquercus
()
Date: April 21, 2006 07:34AM
Please note, this site specfically says that is not endorced by either the young adult group in whose name it appears, the parish, or the archdiocese of New York. The authors do not tell us who they are, though, or the reasons for their fears.
[b:c66bf80919]Moderator note:
"wquercus" appears to be what is often called an "Internet Troll." His only purpose posting here was apparently to subvert the message board.
He posted information elsewhere on the board about the Mankind Project, which he admitted attending. Subsequently, more than a year later "wquercus" returned to delete all his posts regarding the Mankind Project. However, portions of his statements remain as quoted/noted by other members posting here.
Apparently, "wquercus" came to realize that his statements provided proof concerning what goes on inside the Mankind Project and he therefore decided that he didn't want that information to remain here publicly visible.
Subsequently "wquercus" was banned from the board.[/b:c66bf80919]
[b:c66bf80919]Moderator note:
"wquercus" appears to be what is often called an "Internet Troll." His only purpose posting here was apparently to subvert the message board.
He posted information elsewhere on the board about the Mankind Project, which he admitted attending. Subsequently, more than a year later "wquercus" returned to delete all his posts regarding the Mankind Project. However, portions of his statements remain as quoted/noted by other members posting here.
Apparently, "wquercus" came to realize that his statements provided proof concerning what goes on inside the Mankind Project and he therefore decided that he didn't want that information to remain here publicly visible.
Subsequently "wquercus" was banned from the board.[/b:c66bf80919]
Guide on Preventing Opus Dei Infiltration
Posted by:
mjr40
()
Date: April 23, 2006 03:14AM
Since the Church does not seek to protect its own members from dangerous cults that operate within its structure, it falls on the members themselves to use their entreprenurial skills so that others may be informed of the evil in their midst.
Guide on Preventing Opus Dei Infiltration
Posted by:
wquercus
()
Date: April 23, 2006 12:14PM
Sorry, anonymous figures making absurd charges are not credible.
Guide on Preventing Opus Dei Infiltration
Posted by:
mjr40
()
Date: April 25, 2006 08:31AM
Absurdity lies in the eye of the beholder.
Re: Guide on Preventing Opus Dei Infiltration
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: June 22, 2010 05:39AM
This was published in the 1990s but is still an excellent and very informative read:
The Smoke of Satan:Conservative and Traditionalist Dissent in Contemporary
American Conservatism by sociologist Michael Cuneo
[www.google.com]
Among others, he covers the Society of Pius X, and the Marian shrine at Bayside (Veronica Lueken(deceased)Francis Shuckardt (deceased), founder of the Tridentine Latin Rite Church, the Holy Family Monastery in Quebec, the Lefebre controversy, the Fatima Crusade and many, many more.
He did not cover Opus Dei, but gives an excellent background for someone trying to make sense of the landscape.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/2010 05:45AM by corboy.
The Smoke of Satan:Conservative and Traditionalist Dissent in Contemporary
American Conservatism by sociologist Michael Cuneo
[www.google.com]
Among others, he covers the Society of Pius X, and the Marian shrine at Bayside (Veronica Lueken(deceased)Francis Shuckardt (deceased), founder of the Tridentine Latin Rite Church, the Holy Family Monastery in Quebec, the Lefebre controversy, the Fatima Crusade and many, many more.
He did not cover Opus Dei, but gives an excellent background for someone trying to make sense of the landscape.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/2010 05:45AM by corboy.
Re: Guide on Preventing Opus Dei Infiltration
Posted by:
dsm
()
Date: June 22, 2010 06:16AM
Now the mention of the "Tridentine Latin Rite" is very interesting. David Romo Guillen, the voodoo-esque Santa Muerte cult priest has used the same name to refer to his "church".
Now here is a very interesting link to the Tridentine group's own report on a conference. They are a pretty free-wheeling group, not at all cultic in the sense of following the same line of thought and I don't consider most of the Latin-Mass related groups to be dangerous cults with any real "group-think" going on, but some others seem to be using their fringe status as a convenient hiding place and some very dangerous ones like the Santa Muerte cults are using the same names as camouflage.
But, here is a very interesting link to a Latin Mass meeting report: [sspx.agenda.tripod.com]
Agenda's homepage is dedicated to exposing cult-like aspects of SSPX: [sspx.agenda.tripod.com]
The Latin Mass is being celebrated in many Catholic dioceses apart from the SSPX and I have noticed that although the SSPX claimed their main concern was not to lose this Mass, when priests outside their group began to revive it, their supporters could be very divisive. They demand a very strange extreme of sexuality, too. Whereas the Church mainly concerns itself with insuring chastity outside marriage and advising married couples to use natural forms of birth control (which have become extremely effective with the development of better knowledge and technology about the reproductive cycles) the SSPX'ers actually argue that any form of failing to produce children is sinful! Among them if a woman is not havig a new baby every single year, they will harass the couple with questions.
Among "normal" Catholics the practice of cyclical abstinence from actual intercourse does not preclude other forms of sexual pleasure, and all such pleasure is permissible within marriage, but among SSPX it is considered sinful to follow those cycles (which really require abstinence only for about a week out of the month) and thus the opportunity for extreme invasions of privacy with suspiciousness is very strong.
And on the Santa Muerte cult:
[www.podles.org]
(podles' blog appears to be moonie-related via Washington Times but this same info appears elsewhere, too, so just use it as a starting point)
I think the issue with the SSPX-related cults, especially the Fatima cults, is possible exploitation of elderly. There are several groups splintering off from Fatima that seem to be doing that, Fr. Gruner's Fatima group has taken a lot of criticism for relentless guilt-mail fund drives. I don't know of any that exploit people in the coercive recruitment manner although Opus Dei has been criticised for that. [odan.org] is run by parents of college students who faced aggressive recruitment.
Now here is a very interesting link to the Tridentine group's own report on a conference. They are a pretty free-wheeling group, not at all cultic in the sense of following the same line of thought and I don't consider most of the Latin-Mass related groups to be dangerous cults with any real "group-think" going on, but some others seem to be using their fringe status as a convenient hiding place and some very dangerous ones like the Santa Muerte cults are using the same names as camouflage.
But, here is a very interesting link to a Latin Mass meeting report: [sspx.agenda.tripod.com]
Agenda's homepage is dedicated to exposing cult-like aspects of SSPX: [sspx.agenda.tripod.com]
The Latin Mass is being celebrated in many Catholic dioceses apart from the SSPX and I have noticed that although the SSPX claimed their main concern was not to lose this Mass, when priests outside their group began to revive it, their supporters could be very divisive. They demand a very strange extreme of sexuality, too. Whereas the Church mainly concerns itself with insuring chastity outside marriage and advising married couples to use natural forms of birth control (which have become extremely effective with the development of better knowledge and technology about the reproductive cycles) the SSPX'ers actually argue that any form of failing to produce children is sinful! Among them if a woman is not havig a new baby every single year, they will harass the couple with questions.
Among "normal" Catholics the practice of cyclical abstinence from actual intercourse does not preclude other forms of sexual pleasure, and all such pleasure is permissible within marriage, but among SSPX it is considered sinful to follow those cycles (which really require abstinence only for about a week out of the month) and thus the opportunity for extreme invasions of privacy with suspiciousness is very strong.
And on the Santa Muerte cult:
[www.podles.org]
(podles' blog appears to be moonie-related via Washington Times but this same info appears elsewhere, too, so just use it as a starting point)
I think the issue with the SSPX-related cults, especially the Fatima cults, is possible exploitation of elderly. There are several groups splintering off from Fatima that seem to be doing that, Fr. Gruner's Fatima group has taken a lot of criticism for relentless guilt-mail fund drives. I don't know of any that exploit people in the coercive recruitment manner although Opus Dei has been criticised for that. [odan.org] is run by parents of college students who faced aggressive recruitment.
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