Reactionary Catholics are a small minority of core Republican voters, but in many ways they set the party’s agenda because they’re so well organized and have a much stronger intellectual tradition than the Evangelicals who dominate the Republican voting base. But this trend exists internationally as well, and Opus Dei, a lay-member organization founded in Spain, has become a political powerhouse in a number of different countries.
Aside from the ridiculous caricatures of the group painted by Dan Brown in his Da Vinci Code novels, there has not been much detailed reporting on Opus Dei’s activities. The group is so secretive, in fact, that even the leadership of the church itself has often not known what Opus Dei has been up to.
That has began to change in recent years, however, thanks in large measure to journalist Gareth Gore, who has been reporting on the group for several years and has released an important book which is now out in paperback called Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy Inside the Catholic Church. It’s become an international bestseller that has become so influential that Pope Leo XIV actually invited him to discuss his findings and recommendations at a private meeting.
I was pleased to be joined by Gareth to discuss Opus Dei and his book for this episode. We also talked about why Leo, the first American pope, is becoming a historically significant figure through his efforts to reconcile the conservative faith with democracy in the twenty-first century by telling conservative Catholics that they have a place in modernity—contrary to what reactionary and anti-democratic groups like Opus Dei are telling them.
I hope you’ll enjoy.
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Audio Chapters
00:00 — Introduction
12:26 — Pope Leo XIV standing as a conservative against reactionaries
15:48 — Reactionary billionaire Peter Thiel trying to merge reactionary apocalypse traditions
20:14 — René Girard as the source of Thiel’s Antichrist obsessions
23:10 — A brief history of Opus Dei
29:14 — The Fatima miracle tradition within Hispanic reactionary Catholicism
33:52 — Opus Dei and Spanish dictator Francisco Franco
38:00 — The expansion of Opus Dei outside of Spain, including in the U.S.
42:35 — Opus Dei priest converted many Republicans to Catholicism and was accused of sexual assault
44:58 — Dan Brown’s ‘Da Vinci Code’ and Opus Dei
51:19 — Reactionary Christian traditions grow because they provide economic and social support
57:09 — Abuses, including sex trafficking, were protected by Opus Dei’s secrecy
01:02:22 — Pope Leo’s investigation of Opus Dei
About the Show
Theory of Change is hosted by Matthew Sheffield about larger trends and intersections of politics, religion, media, and technology. It's part of the Flux network, a new content community of podcasters and writers. Please visit us at flux.community to learn more and to tell us about what you're doing. We're constantly growing and learning from the great people we meet.
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