Opus Dei

[JDPriestly]

I was intrigued by a recent post on Opus Dei. How can you tell whether someone belongs to Opus Dei? Do Opus Dei members tend to stick together socially? Do they attend meetings? Could Roberts also be an Opus Dei member? After all, he was apparently a Federalist Society member and did not admit it. What else has he not admitted?

I don't have any reason to think that Roberts is an Opus Dei member, but I was thinking that that might explain why he did not marry until he was in his 40s. His lifestyle is in other ways rather mysterious to me. Don't tell me he was billing 2500 hours a year. I know what that is like. Lawyers meet women in their work. Trust me on that one. Roberts seems to be very pleasant and attractive and as a good Catholic, certainly his family wanted him to marry and have children. He does not appear to be excessively shy or lacking in self-confidence. In my experience, a guy like him was early marriage material. I could understand why he might have waited to marry if he had been a philanderer or socially a bit awkward, but he doesn't seem to fall into those categories.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

1. Well ...

they don't cross their legs when they sit down

Cilice:



a spiked chain worn around the upper thigh for two hours each day, except for Church feast days, Sundays, and certain times of the year. This is perhaps the most shocking of the corporal mortifications, and generally Opus Dei members are extremely hesitant to admit that they use them. It is a painful mortification which leaves small prick holes in the flesh, and makes the Opus Dei members tentative about wearing swim suits wherever non-Opus Dei members may be.

[wurzel]

2. Is that for real?

[blm]

3. Yep - It's a rich man's excuse to indulge in what REALLY turns them on

S&M. They enjoy being dominated secretly while they scorn and abuse others themselves.

Robert Hanssen is a perfect example of Opus Dei. So is Bill Bennett.

[wurzel]

13. Anyone who would voluntarily wear that has no place in politics.

Or any other public institution.

[JDPriestly]

5. Surely Scalia doesn't wear this contraption.

Or is that what is making him so angry, so surly, so condescending toward everyone who disagrees with him? Hmm. That could explain a lot.

[SemperEadem]

14. I think a hairshirt is worse

[Igel]

4. Being in Opus Dei is like being a Muslim or a Baptist, in

some ways: you can't look at them and say, Aha! Opus Dei! (Any more than you can look at somebody and say, Aha! You're a Muslim!)

Some go to extremes. Some are much more liberal. Some hang out mostly with their co-religionists. Some prefer to avoid many of their co-religionists.

I've known some in each category. I suspect I've known more, but they don't always advertise.

Some people conflate each group as a whole with that of its founder, or its most extreme members, or its most outspoken members.

Most of the adults in each category get married.

Generalizations are easy to come by; valid generalizations are a bit harder to come by; generalizations that hold true for each member ... don't hold your breath waiting for them.

[JDPriestly]

6. So, members are not required to follow a certain regimen?

[SharonAnn]

8. It depends. There are different levels of "membership"

There are "numeraries" who live in communal living, are celibate, strictly follow all rules of the cult, and turn over all their earning to Opus Dei.

There are" supernumeraries" who live outside the comunal life, are allowed to marry and have families, and may work in "normal" careers.

There are "associates" who are servants to the Opus Dei. They do cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.

On of my nieces is a "numerary".

See www.odan.org for information.

[ChiciB1]

7. Oh C'mon... Say what You Mean!

Hey, any thing's game these days, why not????

[JDPriestly]

9. I do not believe that we should apply religious tests

for any office. The Constitution prohibits that. But, I think we are entitled to know more about Supreme Court nominees than we know about Roberts. I have a lot of experience in life, including life in a law firm, and there are things about Roberts that cause me to ask questions. It seems to me there are gaps in the information about him.

For instance, I may have missed this, but what pro bono work has he done? What has he done to help poor people, people who do not otherwise have access to legal services? The ABA recommends that lawyers volunteer 50 pro bono hours each year. Has Roberts fulfilled that moral obligation? If so, what did he do? If all he has done is political volunteering, I'm inclined to wonder if he is not only conservative but also lacking compassion.

Although it is a conservative, pro-life organization, the Feminists for Life group appears to fight for the rights of troubled pregnant women. I am pro-choice, but it looks like some of that group's activities actually assist underserved individuals. I want to know more about what Roberts has done for the poor, the downtrodden. Has he ever rubbed elbows with the unwashed millions in the country? I haven't seen anything on that, but as I said, I may have missed it.

[ChiciB1]

10. Oh Boy... I WAS WAAAAAY Off Base Here!!!

If you get my drift!!!

But I most heartily agree that this man has many SKELETONS in his closet, but seeing as Bolton is getting his plum, I don't see ANYTHING that will keep Roberts from getting his.

[deadparrot]

11. In my experience...

the people I know are both very strict, conservative Catholics. I've attended an OD get-together with one of them (I was there on a fluke), and while there was a lot of praying (we stopped for Benediction in the middle of it), which was kind of uncomfortable for someone who isn't a conservative Catholic, they simply seemed very devout (sometimes to my discomfort). Now, the other girl I know has admitted that there are "a few" members who do the corporeal punishment, but she seemed to distance herself from it, so I don't think it's too widespread, though it does happen, apprently.

[Donna Zen]

12. I've been wondering about this too.

Scalia and Thomas are both Opus Dei, as is Robert Novak. If Roberts is not a member, there is a good chance he has been approached.