Opus Dei

From Conservapedia

Rome headquarters

The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei (from the Latin "work of God") is a Catholic religious group that believes every member of their church has the potential to become a saint, and must perform God's work to attain this holy prize. Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church that helps people seek holiness in their work and ordinary activities. Opus Dei stresses the importance of work and professional competence. They hold the belief that everyone is called to by holy because it says in the Holy Bible "Be perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48)

The group was started in Spain in 1928 by the Roman Catholic Spanish priest Josemaría Escrivá.

Controversially, Opus Dei appear in The Da Vinci Code, and are represented in the film as an evil organization practicing brutal self-flagellation rituals. This is false, but adherents do practice self-mortification, in particular by the wearing of the cilice, a device with inward-pointing spikes which is worn round the upper thigh.

Opus Dei began its apostolic activities in the United States in Chicago in 1949. Opus Dei’s U. S. headquarters are in Lexington Avenue, New York City. Today there are more than 3,000 members in the United States and about 90,000 members in more than 80 different countries.

In 2002, Pope John Paul II canonized Saint Josemaría Escrivá.