Watch out for the OPUS DEI Narnia Clubs!
Dr. Chojnowski: The brains of the Novus Ordo seems also to be the bank
account of the New Religion. Watch out for all the "fronts" of Opus Dei.
Many of these are mentioned by Randy Engel below. In my own experience,
they established a number of study circles at Fordham University when I
was studying there in the late 80s and early 90s. This organization,
along with being wed to the Liberal Democratic Capitalism of the
Neo-Conservatives, also was an extremely enthusiastic fan of John Paul
II, even to the point of being advocates of his Phenomenology and his
Leftist Personalism.
No Money for Burial of Opus Dei
Members?
On
the afternoon of September 13, 2016, a tragic head-on accident in Mexico
between a Mercedes Benz Sprinter van, a crane and a truck claimed the lives of
eleven members of Opus Dei including two female numeraries and nine numerary
assistants as well as the driver of the van. The women were returning from an
annual pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan de Los Lagos in the
State of Jalisco, one of the most important Marian shrines in Mexico.
Bishop-Prelate Javier Echevarría Rodríguez sent a letter of
condolence from Rome in which he offered support and asked for prayers for the
deceased and their families. The letter read in part:
I
have to tell you that, in the face of so much sorrow, I don’t know how to
begin. But I want to accept God’s will; may each word, each letter of what I am
writing be a suffrage with the whole Work for the eternal rest of these beloved
daughters. I ask the Blessed Trinity to grant them a very rich Heaven, and we
will not forget to remember them each day.
On September
15, a Novus Ordo Mass of Christian Burial was conducted by Msgr. Francisco Ugarte, Regional Vicar of Opus
Dei in Mexico at the Church of S. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer in Guadalara
for the deceased Opus Dei daughters. In his homily, Msgr. Ugarte stated that
“Opus Dei is a family that never separates,” and went on to quote another
section of Bishop Echevarría’s
letter:
When I first read the
names, and even now, my eyes filled with tears. This isn’t being sentimental,
but rather the reality that we are a wonderful family, closely united, and
therefore this painful happening is so difficult to accept. I don't want to
speak any more about the accident, but rather to dwell on their souls, so that
also now they may sense that we are never separated, and this tragic event may
lead us to strengthen the fraternity we need to live.
Shortly
after the accident, two public announcements appeared asking for donations to
help cover the burial expenses of the Opus Dei women killed in the accident –
one account was set up at the Banco( Cuenta en
Banco de Santander y otra en ) . de
Santander, Opus Dei’s largest financial institution and a second at a GoFundMe
Website (https://www.gofundme.com/ayudafao ) .
The
reader may recall that in Part I of this series, “All the Men
Behind the Opus Dei Curtain,” I explained the nature and obligations of Opus
Dei numeraries and numerary assistants.
Both groups are
linked to the Prelature of Opus Dei by simple agreement, but they are also
required to make private, personal vows which are between them and God. Unlike
religious orders where candidates take public
vows and are taken care of by the order, Opus Dei has no legal or Canonical
responsibility for the numerary or numerary assistant.
The former, both men and women, live
in Opus Dei residences. They are celibate, have professional careers and turn
over their salaries to the Prelature. The latter group, the numerary
assistants, are generally Spanish-speaking servants and maids. They also make a
pledge of celibacy and receive clothing, food and shelter at an Opus Dei
facility. They rarely see their paychecks as money is first taken out for their
upkeep. Female numeraries shop at high-end fashion boutiques and their poorer
counterparts are taken by a numerary to shop at second-hand shops or places
like K-Mart.
So here we have
professional and housekeeping daughters of Opus Dei who have turned over their
salaries for their lifetime in Opus Dei, and yet the multi-billion dollar,
multi-national conglomerate cannot cough
up enough bucks to bury their dead. What kind of a “family” is this? What kind of a family does this?
I am not the only one to ask these
same questions. Here is a rough translation of a portion of comments made by an
anonymous former Opus Dei numerary that appeared on the Correspondence website
of www.Opuslibros.org on Friday, September 16, 2016. Under
the title, “How dare you say: A splendid family and very united,” Mediterranean
paints a different picture of the Opus Dei “family” as described above by Bishop Echevarría:
…
How dare you say: A splendid family and very united!
… A family with more
sick members than healthy. A family that ignores the excruciating pain of many
of its members; a family that binds its members and deprives them of any
personal freedom; a family where the secret to remain is slavery; a family with
a high number of suicides… .
So, I ask again. What kind of a family
is Opus Dei?
I hope that Opus Dei
priests, numeraries, supernumeraries, and cooperators who are reading this
column will ask themselves this question. I know they are reading this column
because two different sources have reported to me that Opus Dei confessors are
telling their penitents that I am an unreliable reporter based on E. Michael
Jones’ statement that the Ferndale affair highlighted in Part II of this series
was a “fabrication.” Why then hasn’t the Archdiocese of Detroit or Opus Dei
disavowed my account publicly? An honest question! And honest questions may yet
be the death of the Prelature of Opus Dei.
Opus Dei’s Narnia Clubs – A Fatal Deception
I first learned about Opus
Dei’s Narnia Clubs from my dear friend Marge Garvey of New York City, wife of
Joseph Garvey, the author of the 58-page booklet Parents’ Guide to Opus Dei, published in 1989 by Our Lady & St.
Joseph in Search of the Lost Child – An Ad Hoc Alliance to Defend the 4th
Commandment.
While Opus Dei continues
to feed off its “pro-family” reputation based largely on the Prelature’s
creation and promotion of John Paul II Marriage and Family Institutes, the reality
is that it’s
systemic cultic practices using deception, manipulation,
and mind control are destructive of not
only its members, especially its numeraries, but also the families from which Opus
Dei members are drawn (and spiritually quartered).
As noted in the Parent Guide, “Opus Dei members are trained
in a recruiting technique called “the path of friendship and/or “friendship and
confidence.” Major recruitment centers include Opus Dei residences, hostels,
catering colleges, Opus Dei parishes and private schools, Catholic and secular
elite universities such as Notre Dame, Harvard and Yale, and cultural and
catechetical centers for children and teens, as well as Vatican-endorsed events
such as World Youth Day.
The New York-based
Narnia Catechetical and Cultural Center, aka, Narnia Clubs, is located at 163
East 81st Street. The red-brick cooperative represents a prime piece
of real estate on the Upper East Side where apartments, and offices and penthouses
sell for $1 to $3 million and rent monthly for $3,000 to 5,000 and upwards to
$24,000.
The Narnia Clubs bills
itself as “A
personal approach to teaching the Catholic faith in the heart of Manhattan.” The
Center was founded by Mrs. Mickie Teetor in 1981. She is credited with the idea
of teaching Catholic children the faith in an atrium or home setting using the
techniques developed by Sophia Cavalletti and her Montessori collaborator, Gianna Gobbi in Rome in the mid-1950s.
The database Buzzfile indicates
that the Narnia Clubs are a religious organization which has been located at
its current location for 15 years and has an estimated annual revenue of
$110,000.
The following information was taken from
the official website of Narnia
Clubs at www.narniaclubs.org.
The Atrium Program [$500] enrolls children ages 3 to 5. Classes are held on a weekly basis at
the Narnia Office. Teachers use the Montessori
method in a prepared environment to introduce each child to the basics of the
Christian faith according to his or her individual needs and curiosity.
Program for Penance and Holy Communion Year One [$645] Year Two [$745] prepares children ages 6 to 7 for the Sacraments of
Confession and Holy Communion. Topics include “human persons made in the image of God, the life and presence of
Jesus, the importance of prayer, distinguishing right from wrong.”
Third,
Fourth and Fifth Grade Religious Education [$645] Topics include the
Corporal Works of Mercy and God’s plan of salvation from the Incarnation to
Pentecost; Exploring and comparing the Old and New Testament; and the Creed and
saints.
Program for Confirmation Year One
[$645] Year Two [$745] prepares Narnia students for the Sacrament of Confirmation.
The Socractic
Circle [$150] Those in grades eight and above who have completed
Confirmation are “invited” to join the Socractic Circle. Its stated purpose is to “To encourage critical
thinking through scholarship. With an aim to foster the habit of discernment,
the students and leader will examine various sources and viewpoints on the
topics being discussed. The program will contemplate, among other topics, the
relationship between faith and reason, freedom and human passions, the
distinction between science and technology, the nature of work, leisure, and
culture, as well as the role of ethics and conscience in human acts.” [Note: A
Socratic circle is a form of “values -clarification.” In a catechetical
setting, student understanding of a particular text or doctrine is arrived at
by dialogue and the use of the dialectic. Instead of the student being the
active recipient of revealed truths of the Catholic faith and Catholic
doctrine, he is told by the group facilitator to suspend assumptions and biases
and that there is no right or wrong answer or approach to the question or
problem set before him. Instead of accepting revealed truth the student is
encouraged to question revealed truths and discover his own truth.]
Regarding the
intellectual caliber of its students and teaching staff, the website exudes
snob appeal:
… we recognize that these children are often precocious
and require a religious curriculum that is at least as challenging as that
offered by their schools.
As
they come to understand their catechism, these children need a sense of deeper
Catholic values to cope with the intense secular pressures of New York City
life. An emphasis on personal moral and spiritual
development is crucial, as many of these children may be leaders in the next
generation.
Our
volunteer teachers are dynamic, successful, busy people from various walks of
life, including bankers, professional writers, educators, as well as mothers
and fathers of our own children. Our teachers are well-informed and generous
with their time because they care deeply for our children and the mission of
the Church.
If the reader’s brain
has been automatically acting as a cash register, he will note that the total
basic cost per child for his Narnia religious education ranges between $4,715
to $7,000. Yet the Narnia Catechetical and Cultural Center insists it’s a
“charity:”
Financing: The Narnia program relies on contributions in order to
continue its mission. Mindful of the expenses to families, we try to keep
tuition as low as possible. Unfortunately, tuition revenues do not cover all of
our costs. Like any charitable organization, we rely on donations large and
small. Please do consider making a tax-deductible gift by visiting the Donate
tab.
Today, the Narnia Clubs enrolls more 250 children, ages 3
through 17, in its various classes and programs.
The Narnia Catechetical
and Cultural Center states it “operates
under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of New York and is in compliance with
Archdiocesan guidelines.”
A Conversation with the Catechetical
Office
The New York
Archdiocesan Catechetical Office coordinates Catholic religious education on
the parish level for children of all ages from pre-school through grade 6,
adolescents from grades 7 to 12, and children with special needs. Leadership,
policy development, training and support for this vast network is provided by
the Central Office in Manhattan; Regional Catechetical Offices located
throughout the Archdiocese; Parish Directors and Coordinators of Religious
Education; and trained catechists at the parish level. The Director of the Central
Catechetical Office which “oversees total religious education in all parishes” is
Sr. Joan Curtain, CND.
On Wednesday
afternoon, September 13, 2017, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sr. Curtain from
her First Avenue office. She was accompanied by Sister Nancy Elizabeth Doran,
SSC, the Liaison for Catechist Formation and Regional Director for
Manhattan.
Prior to our
conversation, I sent Sr. Curtain an e-mail asking for information on the Narnia
Clubs operating in Manhattan. Specifically, I wanted to know what was the
nature of the relationship, if any, between the Narnia Clubs and the
Archdiocese of New York. I also asked if Narnia candidates for First Confession
and First Communion, and Confirmation received the Sacraments through their own
parishes; and if Narnia volunteer/teachers receive any training from the
Archdiocese; and if the Archdiocese sponsored the Narnia Clubs’ annual day of
retreat?
I believe that both
religious spoke truthfully when they explained that they knew of the existence
of the Narnia Clubs, but contact with the group over the 15 years of its
existence had been limited to just a few meetings, although it was the sisters’
hope that communication would be expanded in the future. Their office, however,
played no role in the training of Narnia instructors, and no role in the
development of Narnia programs and policies including retreats. One of the
sisters did inform me that the Narnia candidates received the Sacraments at St.
Thomas More Parish in Manhattan.
I asked the sisters if they did not think it
odd, that the Narnia Clubs operated outside the oversight of the Archdiocese,
but that did not appear to engender any verbal reaction one way or the other.
That’s when I asked
them if they were aware that the Narnia Clubs is an Opus Dei “apostolate.” Both
sisters reacted with great surprise and said no. Thus, while the head administrator of the
Archdiocese Catechetical Office of New York had some limited knowledge of the
Narnia Clubs, neither she or her
assistant, Sr. Dolan, were ever informed by the Narnia Clubs that it was an
Opus Dei apostolate.
At this point the
conversation switched over to a discussion of why the Archdiocese of New York
in general, and the Catechetical Office in particular, should be concerned
about Opus Dei’s control of Narnia Clubs and the implication for parents who
have children enrolled in the Narnia programs.
I explained that as
the Catholic Church’s only “personal prelature,” Opus Dei is a kind of
“universal, floating diocese,” which can establish “apostolates” like the
Narnia Clubs without publicly identifying itself as an Opus Dei entity.
Readers of this series
are already aware of the Ferndale scandal in the Archdiocese of Detroit as
described in Parts I and II of this series.
I noted that one of
the most serious objections to Opus Dei’s cultic behaviors and early
recruitment practices was its violation of the Fourth Commandment – Honor thy father and thy mother, and I promised to send the
Catechetical Office a copy of the Parents’
Guide to Opus Dei from which the following examples of the Prelature’s deceptive
practices and attacks on the family are taken:
It [the Opus Dei movement] takes
over the parental role in the lives of children very early, and very gradually,
and in an undercover kind of way… this
is certainly nefarious. Now there may be parents who get involved in it
themselves… who don’t feel this is the case. But for parents who don’t get
involved in it themselves and buy the whole thing, it [Opus Dei] will
eventually come between them and their children. [Statement of Canadian parish
priest, Fr. Jim MacDonald, whose nephews were surreptitiously recruited by Opus
Dei.]
Under the persuasive influence of
“get-togethers” and “circles,” recruits (as young as twelve) are gradually
encouraged to unfold their private and personal lives for “fraternal
correction” and “formation.”
From the very beginning, recruits
are culled from their families into peer groups for their weekly “circles”;
elementary school students, high school students, etc. … Isolating them further
one by one within these carefully circumscribed “circles,” the “spiritual
director” (a lay numerary) indoctrinates the younger recruits in four ways:
first, by winning their confidence; second, by projecting a highly attractive
image of Opus Dei…; third, by establishing regular spiritual direction and
confession with an Opus Dei priest; and fourth, by directing the adoption of
the all-important “plan of life. …”
Although Canon law forbids
admitting anyone younger than eighteen, Opus has a way around that: the
category aspirant. … From the Opus
point of view, expressing a desire to join thereby can make juveniles as young
as twelve secret members of the Work, with no notification necessary to the
competent authorities, their parents.
An example of biased (private)
instruction (publicly denied) used to shape impressionable minds is the Opus
Dei interpretation of the Finding of the Boy Jesus in the Temple. From a
recruit’s notes we read: “He [Jesus] allowed His parents to suffer [before
announcing His mission]. “From then on, Jesus obeyed them, within limits. He
allowed them to take care of Him, just as He allows us to take care of Him in
the sanctuaries in the world.” Finally, the underlined statement, “When God enters the picture, parents’
rights cease. (emphasis added).”
In virtually every talk, homily,
and exhortation to the members, “the Father” refers to them as “my children. …”
Inexorably, this helps to effect the radical transfer of normal family
loyalties to the “new family” of Opus Dei. No natural family can compare with
this family of the sainted monsignor. …
The conversation with Sister Curtain and Sister Doran ended on a cordial
note. I hope to engage them both in a follow-up call after this article is
released.
For the record, I also contacted Jon Woods, the editor of Catholic New York, the largest diocesan
newspaper in the nation, to find out if the paper had ever done a story on the Narnia Catechetical Clubs on the
Upper East Side? He replied that he didn’t think so. When I contacted the
Archdiocesan Office of Youth Ministry asking the same question, the respondent
told me she didn’t know about the Narnia Clubs, but she would try and find out.
Also, although the Archdiocesan
website under the title “The Council of Ecclesial Movements and
New Communities of the Archdiocese of New York” listed a number of familiar
groups including Communion & Liberation, Cursillo Movement, Focolare,
Neocatechumental Way and Regnum Christi NY [Legion
of Christ], Opus Dei was not listed. According to Director Fr. Brian E.
McWeeney, the reason for their omission is very simple. The Prelature has never
asked. They would be welcome, of course,” he said.
Narnia Clubs Refusal to Answer
Questions
On September 14, 2017, one day after my conversation with Sr. Curtain and
Sister Doran, I e-mailed Miss Nivi Toth, the Narnia Clubs’ Program Director. I
explained I was doing a story on the charity, had reviewed their official
website, but still had some unanswered questions. I asked if she would prefer
to answer them by phone or communicate by e-mail.
A few minutes later, I received a reply from the Assistant Program
Director, Allison Baughman. According to her Linkedin profile she is a graduate
of Ave Maria University, a self-employed free-lance writer and a volunteer
teacher at the Narnia Club. Miss Baughman stated she wanted more information
“before we answer any questions.” A rather curt response for a non-profit
religious charity, I thought.
In my second e-mail, I explained I was doing a story on Narnia Clubs and
how they operate and that my questions were open and straight forward, for
example, “Are you a 501 (c) (3) charity”
The next day I received the following reply: “Dear Randy, you are
correct, we are a 501 (c) (3) in good standing with the IRS and the Archdiocese
of New York. We would prefer not to do an interview.”
In my final follow-up message to Miss Baughman I noted that I was not
seeking an interview, but merely asking some basic questions that any
tax-exempt, tax-deductible public charity should be willing to answer
regardless of the questioner.
I asked her under what title the charity was registered with the IRS
since I could not find any reference to the Narnia Catechetical and Cultural
Center, Narnia Club, or Narnia Clubs on Guidestar which maintains a national
data-base on non-profit organizations. I also inquired about where Narnia
students receive the Sacraments, where their volunteer catechetical teachers
were trained, and if any of the volunteer teachers and host families were
numeraries, supernumeraries or cooperators of Opus Dei? Finally, I formally requested
copies of Narnia Clubs’ tax returns for 2013, 2014, and 2015 [990 or EZ forms].
IRS disclosure laws mandates that tax-exempt organizations must provide copies
of their tax-returns to persons requesting them within a 30-day period.
Opus Dei Dominates Board
of Directors
The Narnia Clubs’
listing of its Board of Directors reveals the presence of a several high-level
Opus Dei Members. Here is a sampling:
Mary Elise Eckman is an Opus Dei numerary. She resides at Alderton House, 117 East 70th
Street, in Manhattan, an Opus Dei residence for women. As President of the multi-million
dollar Rosemoor Foundation, whose officers and directors are all female
numeraries, she oversees “financial support for apostolic initiatives, centers
and activities whose origin and mission are inspired by the Catholic Prelature
of Opus Dei.” In addition to providing grants to Echman’s residence, Alderton
House which has $12 million in assets, The Rosemoor Foundation provides
financial grants to:
·
Arnold Hall, Inc., Mass. – Opened in 1964, it is a Conference Center
for religious and educational programs, retreats, and other activities. Total
assets over $2 million.
·
Palm Trail, Inc., Florida – With $1 million plus in assets, the
charity helps women shape society.
·
Vancourt, Inc. – A cultural, educational and religious resource
for women.
·
Association for Educational
Development, IL – With
$10 million in assets, engages in supplementary education in areas of character
formation, philosophy, and theology.
·
Murray Hill Place, Inc., NY – With just under $50 million in assets, the 17-story
luxury U.S. headquarters of Opus Dei in the center of Manhattan caters to
professionals and university students visiting or living in New York City.
·
The Heights Foundation, Inc., NY – With over $5 million in assets, the foundation provides
chapels, residences and retreat facilities for Roman Catholic worship,
instruction and moral guidance.
·
Corporation for Social and
Educational Development –
Founded in 1968, the $ 4.7 million charity promotes intellectual, moral,
cultural and religious development irrespective of race, color, creed,
nationality and financial resources. In 2015, it gave grants to the Rosemoor
Foundation, Woodlawn Foundation and the Petawa OD Residence in Wis.
·
Trimount Foundation, NY – Provides chapels, residences and retreat
facilities for Roman Catholic worship, instruction and moral guidance. Among
its properties is the Frederick Ayer mansion in Boston designed by Louis
Comfort Tiffany purchased by the Trimount Foundation and Bayridge Residence and
Cultural Center.
·
Lexington College, Chicago. Trains women in Hospitality Management.
Closed in 2014.
·
Grandevue Study Center – Opus Dei Women’s Residence and Study Center,
Pittsburgh, Penn. All officers are numerary/volunteers. Sponsors retreats and
Days of Recollection.
·
Longlea Conference Center, Inc., Virginia. Provides a chapel and chaplain as well as
lodgings and meals for its guests attending retreats and workshops.
·
Clevemont, Inc. Washington, D.C. – Connected to Yuma Center,
provides classes in spirituality and social ethics classes for parents.
·
Yuma Study Center, Washington, D.C. – Provides leadership programs
for girls and women on work and life that “bring fulfillment and freedom.”
Total assets of $16 million.
·
Shellbourne, Inc., IN – With $7 million in assets, the Shellbourne
Conference Center sponsors “traditional, silent retreats, conducted by priests of the
Prelature of Opus Dei for either men or women.”
·
Wiggins House – Opus Dei Princeton Women’s Cultural Center. All
officers/director members are numerary/volunteers.
·
Trumbull Manor, Inc., San Francisco. Opus Dei Retreat Center with
assets over $3 million.
·
Roseaire Retreat, Inc., Florida – With over $6 million in assets, the
center sponsors educational and charitable activities. Spiritual Direction
provided with a lay person or priest.
·
American Initiatives For Social
development Foundation, N.Y.C.
– In 2015, this charity provided educational and nutritional funds for
Ethiopian women and pre-school children [$17,050]; basic education and
technical assistance for poor women in the Dominican Republic [$3,948]; and
raised money [$2,505] to expand a vocational training center for girls and
women in India.
·
Association for Cultural
Interchange (Saxum Project) – The
biggest grant and most interesting grant of $5,258,860.00 made by the Rosemoor
Foundation in 2015 went to the ACI for the Saxum Project in Israel. The $60
million Conference Center/Multimedia Center/ and Hospitality Training Center,
aka OD maid and cleaning training center for local girls, is located on the road
between Jerusalem and Emmaus. Its stated purpose is to create “dialogue among people
of different religions and cultures,” and “highlight the Christian heritage and
the Jewish roots of the faith.” “The Prelature of Opus Dei will provide for the
spiritual needs of those attending Saxum’s retreats, workshops, and conferences
inspired by the writings of Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer.” [Note:
Visitors will also receive instruction on the
spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews as enunciated in Vatican II’s
“Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions,”
Nostra Aetate.]
George
Sim Johnson III is
another of the Narnia Clubs’ Directors. The former investment banker is a
highly placed Opus Dei operative who sits on the Board of Directors of the Woodlawn
Foundation, whose assets exceed $70 million. The Woodlawn Foundation
is an Opus Dei holding company which solicits money and provides grants to Opus
Dei and its non-profits. In 2014, it gave million-dollar grants to Murry Hill
Place, the ACI (Saxum), and Shellbourne. Grants of half-million dollars and
down went to about 40 other Opus Dei residences, study centers, private schools
and foundations including Roseaire, Heights Foundation, Arnold Hall, Longlea,
Association for Educational Development, Trimount, and Rosemoor, all mentioned
above. Opus Dei’s Scepter Publishers has printed some of Sim Johnson’s
writings.
Sim
Johnson is a parishioner of the historic St. Thomas More Church in
Manhattan about nine blocks from Narnia headquarters. Jacqueline Kennedy
Onassis was a member of the parish. And a private memorial service for John F. Kennedy,
Jr. was conducted there in 1999. The Narnia Club holds many of its sacramental
events, receptions and meetings at the parish.
Among
the other dozen members of the Narnia Club’s Board of Directors are
professional women, well-known in their own right, and women married to
influential, wealthy New York men in the fields of business, healthcare,
banking and finance, wealth management, real estate and the arts. They include
Mrs. Thomas Lehrman, a member of the Lehrman family. Lewis E. Lehrman is an
investment banker and former candidate for the Governor of New York and a
famous convert of Fr. C. John McCloskey, Opus Dei’s priest among the rich and
famous.
Lawrence Kudlow, the famed economist and
pundit is another of McCloskey’s successes who was baptized in a small chapel adjacent
to St. Thomas More. On
February 28, 2017, Kudlow gave a “Faith in Action Talk” titled A Spiritual Rebirth: An Evening with Larry
Kudlow.
Narnia Clubs Speaker
Barbara Falk
Parents whose children
are registered for Narnia Clubs’ First Communion classes are required to attend
special programs usually held at St. Thomas More.
The Narnia Clubs’
calendar for October 2017 featured a talk to parents titled “Practical Tips for
Raising Children of Character,” by Barbara Falk. Who is Ms. Falk? The calendar doesn’t say and
I don’t know if her Opus Dei credentials were given to Narnia Clubs parents at
that meeting, but she is well known in Washington D. C’s. elite social circles
and among EWTN watchers.
Falk is a celibate
numerary who joined Opus Dei at the age of 24. From 1990 to 2001, she was the
headmistress of Oakcrest School in the Metropolitan area of Washington, D.C.,
an independent school for girls in grades six to twelve. Since leaving Oakcrest
she has become a well-known lecturer in Catholic and conservative circles. Asked
to comment on the movie The Da Vinci Code, Falk said, "We're [Opus Dei] out
to change the world. But we're not shrouded in something weird."
Really?
Transparency Needed for All Opus Dei Apostolates
“Shrouded?” “Weird?” These
words bring us to the reason I included the Narnia Clubs in this concluding
segment to the Jones/Voris story.
How incredulous is it
that the Director of the New York Archdiocesan Catechetical Department did not
know that the Narnia Clubs is an Opus Dei cash cow and recruiting operation?
Why is it that the Narnia
Catechetical and Cultural Center does not, in any way, publicly and clearly
identify itself as an Opus Dei “apostolate.” Indeed, as of September 7, 2017,
neither the words Opus Dei or the Prelature of Opus Dei appear anywhere
on their website?
The statement that the
Narnia Center “operates under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of New
York is misleading at best. A more truthful statement would be that the Center
operates in the Archdiocese of New York, but is under the control of
Opus Dei and not the Archdiocese.
What’s with all the
secrecy? Why doesn’t the Narnia official website clearly carry an up-front
statement such as:
WARNING: The Narnia Clubs is an apostolate of Opus Dei. If
your child or teenager exhibits strange and unusual behavioral patterns after
attending Narnia classes, he or she may be the target of premature, aggressive recruitment
tactics. Seek immediate help from competent spiritual and legal sources.
It is an obscenity of
the highest degree, especially under the Narnia pre-school and grade-school
program, that very young children can be pre-selected as “aspirants” by Opus
Dei teachers and their consciences can be systematically deformed without their
parents having the slightest clue, since these youngsters are told not to discuss their
“vocation” with anyone other than their Opus Dei tutors.
Think I am
exaggerating? Think again!
An Opus Dei Life Plan
for an Eleven-Year-Old
On October 2, 2017, Opuslibros.org
carried a story from a very angry mother from Spain whose 11-year-old daughter
had been attending an Opus Dei school. The mother states that she and her
husband sensed something was not quite right with their young daughter, but
didn’t have a clue what it was.
Then, at the end of
the summer upon the start of a new school term, the mother was carrying her
daughter’s backpack and chanced to look inside. There were attractive leaflets,
one for each month of the year, with pretty, pastel covers picturing Our Lady
of Fatima and cute children’s faces. Good. Fine.
Upon opening a
brochure, the mother saw a curious list of proposed readings and actions for
each day – 5 minutes of reading and 5 minutes of talking with God – and “A Life
Plan ‘Only for the brave ’” which included;
·
Heroic minute
·
Visit to the oratory
·
Pray the mysteries of the Rosary
·
Make an examination of conscience
·
Prayer – Mary’s Psalter
There was a chart with
boxes marked off by 15- minute intervals with instructions to mark X every time
her daughter performed a specific task such as praying the Angelus or studying,
or performing an examination of conscience at night..
The mother of this
child was a faithful Catholic who took an interest in her daughter’s school
activities and played an active role in the life of the school. Yet at no time
did any teacher or tutor inform the parents of the “Life Plan” Opus Dei had
initiated for their daughter. The parents
are looking for a new school for their child.
Just maybe some
parents who have children in Opus Dei nurseries, and elementary and secondary
schools or catechetical classes will want to do the same. Better late than
never.
Transparency
in Opus Dei Membership
Why, except for
designated public OD figures like Fr. John McCloskey, do members of Opus Dei
keep their membership a secret, especially when these members have public careers
such as journalists, politicians, and, yes, catechetical teachers?
Even at a personal
level, non-disclosure of Opus Dei membership prostitutes and poisons true
friendship between persons. It is a bitter experience to find out that what you
believed to be a legitimate caring and loving friendship turns out to be mere systematic,
exploitive recruitment tactic which may or may not have panned out.
If the Vatican will
not insure the right of the Catholic faithful to full disclosure of Opus Dei’s
activities, programs and membership, then that duty falls to the Ordinary of
the diocese. If both fail to carry out this task with due diligence, then faithful Catholics must rise to the
challenge.
Opus Dei WATCH
For any reader who is
interested in learning more about Opus Dei, I am creating an informal e-mail
list called Opus Dei Watch. If you would like to receive periodic news and
commentaries on the Prelature of Opus Dei just send you name to me at rvte61@comcast.net.
Fr Hesse: Opus Dei and Communism
