LONDON (UNITED KINGDOM)
Squeaky Wheel Productions [Trumbull, CT]
April 30, 2025
By Scott Harris
Interview with Gareth Gore, a London-based investigative journalist and editor, conducted by Scott Harris
Opus Dei is a controversial, small but powerful conservative organization within the Catholic Church, founded in Spain by Josemaría Escrivá in 1928. The secretive cult-like sect’s members practice corporal mortification, or self-inflicted pain as a form of penance, as depicted in the movie, “The DaVinci Code.” Opus Dei members have been accused of sexual abuse and exploitation of adolescent girls in several countries around the world.
In its early years, Opus Dei had close ties with Spain’s dictator General Francisco Franco, where several of the group’s members were appointed ministers in his fascist government. The sect has often been accused of supporting brutal right-wing military regimes in Chile, Argentina and other nations across Latin America, a charge Opus Dei denies.
In his new book titled, “Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking and Right-Wing Conspiracy Inside the Catholic Church,” Gareth Gore, a London-based investigative journalist, examines the group’s radical agenda, cult-like practices and its role in the collapse of one of Spain’s largest banks. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Gore, who talks about the rising influence of Opus Dei in Donald Trump’s right-wing U.S. MAGA movement, the late Pope Francis’ criticism of Opus Dei, and speculation on who the College of Cardinals may elect as the Church’s next pope.
GARETH GORE: So Opus Dei came of age in 1930 Spain, which was a society that was on the brink of civil war. You had progressives fighting conservatives in the streets. And Escrivá, the Spanish priest who founded Opus Dei, he saw the movement as a kind of reactionary guerrilla army who would fight against the progressives. He saw the membership as infiltrating every element of society, from politics to the judiciary, the world of business, journalism and using their positions there to really kind of push a reactionary agenda.
And that’s very similar to what’s happening in the states right now. Escrivá back in the ’30s, he was a conspiracy theorist. He thought Spain was being overrun by Bolsheviks, communists and Jews. He thought they’d kind of taken over the levers of society. And, you know, it’s a very similar narrative to the one being pushed by the MAGA movement now.
It’s all about how the progressives have taken over the universities and they’ve taken over the judiciary and they’ve taken over politics. You know, the things that were driving Opus Dei in 1930s Spain are very much alive and well right now. I mean, it’s a very similar dynamic right now, I would argue in the states.
What they want to achieve? Who knows. I don’t want people to think that there’s some guy in Rome, the head of Opus Dei, issuing orders for Leonard Leo or for any of these other people affiliated to Opus Dei. It doesn’t work like that.
I think the best way of thinking about Opus Dei is as a network of like-minded individuals. And the organization kind of feeds those individuals with a philosophy — for want of a better word — and pushes them kind of in the right direction. It’s about kind of bringing together a group of like-minded radicals who are willing to go out there and fight against the progressives.
A number of the Project 2025 chapters were written by either members of Opus Dei or people affiliated to Opus Dei. And so I think that you can see really what kind of an agenda this network of people are really intent on pushing.
SCOTT HARRIS: The College of Cardinals will soon meet in the Vatican to select Pope Francis’ successor. During his papacy, Pope Francis, as you talked about in the book, had expressed concerns about Opus Dei, its conduct and charges of abuse.
Briefly tell us about the divisions within the Catholic Church when it comes to Opus Dei between the progressive, reformist and conservative forces, and how that could influence the selection of the next pope. And, of course, what’s at stake for Opus Dei in terms of who that next pope will be? In terms of the possible criticism or isolation that the next pope could confer on Opus Dei.
GARETH GORE: So Opus Dei has been locked in a bitter conflict with Pope Francis for a number of years. So Francis was aware of the abuses within Opus Dei and he was trying to do something about it. So he in 2022, issued a decree and basically ordered Opus Dei to clean up and to reform, to rewrite its statutes.
Opus Dei dragged its feet. I think they were playing the long game. They thought, here’s a 80-odd-year-old pol. He’s not in the best of health. Let’s just wait. You know, he may not be around long enough to push through these reforms. He lost patience. A year later, he issued another decree, again ordering them to rewrite their statutes.
Again, they dragged their feet. Now, what’s interesting is that recently, the Vatican has basically forced Opus Dei to actually kind of get to work and to redraw the statutes. Next week, they were due to vote on this new set of statutes that the Vatican has basically forced down their throats. When the pope passed, within 24 hours of the pope dying, Opus DEI canceled the meeting to vote on the new statutes.
Opus Dei has basically being given a second life. It was about to be heavily reformed. Francis was pushing that through. And the death of Francis opens the door to maybe it surviving intact without having to reform.
As you mentioned, over the next couple of weeks, the cardinals will be meeting to vote on the next pope, about 130 cardinals from around the world. Now, I’m kind of naively, perhaps optimistic, that they’re probably going to elect maybe someone not quite as progressive as Francis, but I very much doubt that the next pope will be an arch conservative, because of those approximately 130 cardinals who will vote, about 110 of them were actually hand-picked by Francis himself.
Listen to Scott Harris’ in-depth interview with Gareth Gore (25:05) and see more articles and opinion pieces in the related links section of this page. For weekly updates on the Trump authoritarian playbook now underway, subscribe here to our Between The Lines Radio Newsmagazine Substack newsletter to get updates to our “Hey AmeriKKKa, It’s Not Normal” compilation.
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