From all points of the country, college-bound students are checking lists, class choices, and plane tickets.

Parents are double-checking the same and trying not to think of an empty chair at the table or an unoccupied bedroom on the second floor. Time enough for that later.

Other parents are thinking of these youngsters, as well, worrying about them, strangers though they may be, praying that they will not fall into the hands of Opus Dei, as did their children.

Not many lay Catholics know about Opus Dei, but there's not a seminarian, priest, bishop, cardinal or pope who isn't familiar with that organization.

An older priest, well-traveled, and not lacking in courage or dedication to the poor, spoke with a certain amount of awe in his voice when he said of Opus Dei authority figures: "They're everywhere, and everyone is afraid of them, bishops and priests, everyone. They have such power and money. Who can stop them?"

Of course, Opus Dei is not an unmitigated evil in the church today. On the contrary, there are many holy people in its ranks, with the kind of holiness that attracts young people, far from home, looking for a safe harbor and a substitute family. The problem is that the harbor is not safe, nor is the family healthy.

Dianne DiNicola and her husband came to know about Opus Dei's unsafe harbor and dysfunctional family when their daughter, Tammy, signed up with the organization in her sophomore year at the Jesuit Boston College.

The parents couldn't understand how their child became mixed up in a mind-controlling sect on the campus of a Catholic college. Hadn't they planned and sacrificed to give her the best education in the best environment possible?

By Tammy's senior year, the parents were on the horns of a dilemma. If they succeeded in showing their daughter just what kind of group she was in, she might return to the family, but her disillusionment could destroy her faith in God. If they left her in peace, she might lose her sense of personhood under Opus Dei's manipulation, and become nothing more than an obedient puppet.

The parents decided to call in an exit counselor, a Christian, who was well versed in Scripture, as well as experienced in helping young people mired in cults.

It was planned that Tammy would return home for one night to celebrate her graduation. During that evening, the exit counselor showed the young woman that God wanted a whole person to serve him, not someone who couldn't make an independent decision nor question the simplest command. The counselor used Scripture passages to show that love, not fear, is the way Christ wants us to follow.

Tammy never returned to Opus Dei. Little by little, she shed her fears and scruples. With the help of her parents and a wise, compassionate priest, she struggled day by day to begin to live a normal life. In the process, her faith in God became stronger. Today, Tammy is happily married and the mother of a little boy.

Some time ago, I spoke with her mother, Dianne, who founded the Opus Dei Awareness Network, Inc.. She told me of a former member's book, "Beyond the Threshold," written by Maria Del Carmen Tapia , published by Continuum, New York/ $29.95.

To quote from the jacket of the book: "This is a story of a religiously motivated young woman who was manipulated, turned into a fanatic, and only gradually came to her senses - all because of a religious organization working in the highest echelons of the Roman Catholic Church: Opus Dei, "God's Work."

Home

Archives