Foolables are shocked (shocked!) to discover that Opus Dei is Catholic!

The nerve of some people! How dare such Fools hold closely to the Catholic Faith! How dare they seek to influence society, as though the Church posessed the fullness of truth! What audacity! smh.com.au gives Foolable Kate Mannix a megaphone.

What a laugh! What a hoot! Even when she resorts to tendacious straw-men arguments, she can't help complain about Opus Dei's faithfulness to the magisterium! Take a look:

In education, Opus Dei is aiming for the "high end". The private Catholic (publicly funded) University of Notre Dame is interested in training doctors and lawyers who will move into public life and apply the values they have been taught.

So here are some values to watch out for: that the church alone is the repository of absolute truth; conscience must be subordinate to the teachings of the church; the "traditional family" should enjoy legal and financial privileges over other families; abortion is always wrong (though killing in war is sometimes right)

This doesn't stop Ms. Mannix from foaming over-the-top in ways only the Reasonable could love:

men are almost always the disadvantaged party in family disputes due to "extreme feminism" rampant in today's society; IVF is a capitalist plot; there is no obligation for the church to be transparent and accountable; labour is best hired on the basis of correct religious convictions; foreign aid is a misuse of public money; Catholic social teaching embraces market forces; economic prosperity and morality go hand in hand; homosexuals are "intrinsically disordered"; global warming is exaggerated; social welfare is best undertaken by the church.

Is she kidding? Hasn't she ever heard of google? What is it with these mouth-foamers.

Check out Opus Dei Australia's own beliefs from their own mouth:

What does Opus Dei - as an organization - do?


It helps ordinary people live up to their Christian calling in their day-to-day affairs by giving them the spiritual support and formation they need to achieve this. It promotes an awareness of the universal call to holiness - the radical idea that every person is called by God to be a saint - especially holiness in and by means of one's ordinary work and daily routine. This goal is pursued through retreats, mornings/evenings of recollection, courses in philosophy and theology, personal spiritual guidance, for members first of all, but also for others who wish to avail themselves of these spiritual services.

The primary apostolic work of Opus Dei is that carried out by each of its members, as free and responsible individuals acting on their own initiative. There are also corporate undertakings in which Opus Dei oversees the spiritual and doctrinal aspects. These are always not-for-profit ventures that provide an educational, charitable or similar social service, and include conference centers, schools and universities, student residences, youth clubs, farm schools and medical clinics.
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Is Opus Dei controversial?



Opus Dei has received widespread praise from both inside and outside the Catholic Church. Yet Opus Dei is a new institution of the Church. Like other new institutions, Opus Dei has sometimes been misunderstood. This criticism has sometimes been directed at Opus Dei because of its strong faithfulness to the Pope, the bishops and the Catholic faith. Other times, the root cause of a controversy, real or apparent, is a misunderstanding of some basic point about Opus Dei, such as:

a failure to grasp that in social, political, family, economic and professional matters, members make up their own minds and act with complete freedom and personal responsibility;
or a confusion of secrecy and privacy, quite distinct concepts;
or an inability to appreciate the difference between the secular or lay condition of the members, on the one hand; and the canonical state of the consecrated life and aspects that go with it, on the other.
Anyone familiar with history will hardly be surprised to find some controversy surrounding a relatively new institution of the Church. In fact, Jesus Christ repeatedly warned his followers to expect such criticism.

Yeah, they sound sooo scary, right?

Riiiight.

Ms. Mannix's problem with Opus Dei isn't their influence on Australian politics. It's their commitment to Catholic orthodoxy. She wants a more Reasonable Catholicism. The trouble is, Roman Catholicism is very Foolish. That's why it's true! She can foam-at-the-mouth all she wants; the Church remains who she is, and Opus Dei choses to honor her for that. There are worst things for a Roman Catholic prelature to be accused of than being too Roman Catholic!