Opus Dei vs. Regnum Christi

[Moneo]

Thanks for your insights. I apologize if some part of my reply could be construed as rather uncharitable on my part, which I did not intend.

Not at all! Your post sounded like a fellow Catholic with a different point of view, which is why I’m here. I’m interested in hearing other folks’ points of view. So thank you for that!

God bless and since you’re reading this right now, how about a quick prayer for me? I’ll offer one for you …

Cheers!

 

[bluerose]

However, I am somewhat wary of Regnum Christi. There are many reasons to be cautious of both Regnum Christi and the Legionaries of Christ, who run Regnum Christi.

May I ask for specifics? As a member of Regnum Christi and with a brother-in-law who is a Legionary of Christ, I may be able to clarify anything that might cause “wariness”.

 

[BruceAlmighty]

Hi there -
If I can offer anything at all to the OP it would be to tread very carefully with both organisations. Especialy with the Escrivites.
Regnum Christi has their own problems too but at least they are now being address by the Vatican.
One should not have to join a Catholic organisasion such as ‘the work’ or Regnum to get fulnes out of their spirtual lives.

 

[Chancellare]

Hi there -
If I can offer anything at all to the OP it would be to tread very carefully with both organisations. Especialy with the Escrivites.
Regnum Christi has their own problems too but at least they are now being address by the Vatican.
One should not have to join a Catholic organisasion such as ‘the work’ or Regnum to get fulnes out of their spirtual lives.

If you’re trying to say that you have attained fullness of your spiritual life, congratulations!

Hope you can share it with the less fortunate.

 

[Holy_Family]

Have any of you Opus Dei members ever heard such discussion as all of the above about the Carmelites or Franciscans ?
Vianney, if all you are going to read is Scott Hahn and John Allen about Opus Dei, you will get the direction you are most probably wanting anyway.
At the very least Escriva hasn’t been accused of molestation so that should help you make up your mind which one to join. Off you go - join in!

 

[SeekerJen]

I was involved in a high school youth group that I’m pretty sure was affiliated with Regnum Christi. I don’t recall actually hearing that, but as I didn’t know what that was in high school it probably went over my head at the time. From speaking with other people involved later on, I’m near positive that it was RC.

It wasn’t for me, but they were very nice, very devout and holy people. I credit them for helping bring me back to the Church, as I had left for a few years as a teen after refusing Confirmation. One of my fellow group members sponsored me at my Confirmation, and all were supportive in helping me prepare.

I don’t know much about OD. I’m sure there are people who have been hurt by members of both groups, and we should of course acknowledge that. But like any other group of humans, there’s a mixed bag. I believe that most involved are truly devoted to Christ and have the best intentions.

 

[KCT]

God bless you in your search to do His will in your life!
—KCT

 

[Annunciata]

Have any of you Opus Dei members ever heard such discussion as all of the above about the Carmelites or Franciscans ?
Vianney, if all you are going to read is Scott Hahn and John Allen about Opus Dei, you will get the direction you are most probably wanting anyway.
At the very least Escriva hasn’t been accused of molestation so that should help you make up your mind which one to join. Off you go - join in!

And he would be most welcome too!
Kindly go peddle your hatred elsewhere… It’s so very sad that in this holy time of Lent that you are so blind … You should be reflecting upon and working on your failings…

 

[Chancellare]

Have any of you Opus Dei members ever heard such discussion as all of the above about the Carmelites or Franciscans ?
Vianney, if all you are going to read is Scott Hahn and John Allen about Opus Dei, you will get the direction you are most probably wanting anyway.
At the very least Escriva hasn’t been accused of molestation so that should help you make up your mind which one to join. Off you go - join in!

The ODANS and the Tapias of this world have already spoken. The Scott Hahns and the John Allens of the world gave us some positive, even journalistically balanced views and answers, which I might say is sorely lacking in the references you cited. John Allen is a journalist and a non-member. As such, people see his views with less bias. If we weigh the biases against biases of each side, the ODANS and the Tapias of this world will definitely sink the boat on their side.

But more than this, to assume that people did not bother to read the derogatory writings against Opus Dei that you cited borders on insulting the intelligence of others. Have you considered the possibility that many people have already researched ODAN and the Tapias of this world and saw through their arguments clearly and concluded that their allegations did not undo the good that Opus Dei has done? Have you also considered that sowing aspersions against others is an uncharitable act unworthy of a Christian?

Besides, your argument is like saying: “why should we all just listen to Christ and Peter and Paul? Why not hear out Herod’s and Judas’ and the Pharisees’ arguments with great affection too?”

 

[Sayanz]

I’d say that the vs. in the title of this thread might lead to misinterpretation that some groups in the Catholic Church are at loggerheads, because “versus” means “against” and “opposed to”. Anyway, there is a “communion of the saints” among all Catholics and this communion binds them to work together towards holiness. But yes, I do understand the point of this thread.

Anyway, in answer to the usual attacks against Opus Dei, there is this new link where one can find most of the answers to the usual attacks against it that are found in ODAN: uap.edu.ph/opusdei/

This is a book written in reply to one of the most widely read books written against Opus Dei, a book written by Michael Walsh, an ex-priest.

 

[Vianney]

Thank you for sharing the link! It will be a great resource : )

Yes, I was aware of the possible confusion of the title, which is why the first thing I did in the original post was make the clarification:

First, I do not want to make this a competition between the two, which I know are both excellent lay organizations. The title of this thread referrs to a comparison, rather.

 

[Fergal]

Hi there -
If I can offer anything at all to the OP it would be to tread very carefully with both organisations. Especialy with the Escrivites.
Regnum Christi has their own problems too but at least they are now being address by the Vatican.
One should not have to join a Catholic organisasion such as ‘the work’ or Regnum to get fulnes out of their spirtual lives.

What you seem to forget is that there are many organisations present in the Catholic Church through which people give expression to their spiritual lives.

These organisations have different ‘charisms’. Carmelites, Dominicans, Sisters of Mercy etc… are religious organisations that tend, on the large part, to focus on the charism of the rule of religious life. of course they have a lay branch or a ‘third order’ that gives the laity a religious rule in their lives. Their charism is religious.

Opus Dei is not a religious organisation. It is a secular organisation with its own charism of holiness through work. Our charism is santification through ordinary everyday work.

All these organisations through all their charisms have the same goal: santification, redemption and eternal life.

As is stated in the site by William O’Connor mentioned above most of those who are anti Opus Dei are experiencing "a ‘sense of disappointment’ that Opus Dei was not in fact providing a modern form of religious life,…: Opus Dei was not what (they) imagined it to be. This of course is no fault of Opus Dei."

 

[Chancellare]

Opus Dei love money. John Roache of ireland took them to court to get his money back. It was money that gave Jose a fast track to sainthood. Read Leopards in the Temple by John Martin. read read read read read - it is all out there.
‘Beyond the Threshold’, ‘Their Kingdom Come’ to name just two absolutely wonderful works exposing the truth behind Opus Dei. Who needs fiction such as the Da Vinci Code? the real story is far more interesting !

Reading Roache and his ilk is like listening to Kim Il Sung extolling the virtue of attacking South Korea’s “starving and evil” government. They put people into their version of truth and it all depends where your bias are.

 

[thecoach]

First, I do not want to make this a competition between the two, which I know are both excellent lay organizations. The title of this thread referrs to a comparison, rather.

Lately, I’ve felt a calling to join Opus Dei. However, I’m curious what significant differences in spirtuality, practices, organization, etc. Opus Dei has from Regnum Christi. I have a serious girlfriend, and several friends who are members of Regnum Christi and it clearly seems to be a great movement. Spiritual direction, daily readings and meditations, retreats, etc. I’m wondering how far off this is from Opus Dei.

Also, if any members of Opus Dei from Washington State see this, I’d love to hear your experience! I know that neither OD or RC are approved in the Seattle Archdiocese.

Thanks : )

perhaps you should look into lay orders of religious orders, such as Secular Franciscans or Third Order Carmelites.

 

[Sister_MM]

Opus Dei took over control of the Catholic school where I worked for over a decade. I can relate first hand to just about every word in that ODAN article. I thought they were good Catholics at first, until the real agenda began to surface. They know where to plant seeds, and they are pretty good at sizing up a vulnerable target.
Listen to St. Paul’s advice: “Test all things; hold fast to that which is good.”

 

[CSN]

This thread is exactly what I was wondering myself. Well, from what I can gather, both from this thread and from personal experience, it seems the similarities / differences are as follows:

(a) Both are highly conservative, orthodox organizations.

(b) OD focuses on everyday work life and workers in general, whereas LC focuses more on workplace and community leaders. The unfortunate by-product (of both, actually) may be a tendency to treat some members better than others (e.g. those who are wealthier, professionals). I suspect, however, this is significantly more pronounced in LC than in OD, since LC’s charism seems to be to work ‘from the top down’. So if it happens in LC, it’s kind of intended, whereas if it happens in OD, it’s a mistake.

(c) OD is less formal, structured and individualistic. LC is more formal and highly structured, doing many activities in groups.

If there is anything inaccurate or incomplete with the foregoing, please advise.

 

[JKS]

CSN,
While I was looking for a more Catholic-friendly alternative to GS a few years ago, there were some women promoting a Regnum Christi youth group at our parish. While I was originally enthusiastic, I became less so the more I found out about Regnum Christi. After a lot of research and quite a few unpleasant encounters, I began to actively encourage anyone who is interested in Regnum Christi to thoroughly investigate it before becoming involved. You should look at both regainnetwork.org, and legionaryfacts.org (lcfacts.org, maybe?). You should talk to former members, including happy former members and unhappy former members and then decide. There are a lot of people who disagree with me, and many who agree. I fully support Archbishop O’Brien’s demands of the LC/RC, especially the ban on spiritual direction of minors; I have heard too many complaints about the 3gf’s SD from people I trust to think it’s a good idea. My suspicion is that the SD problems in RC (especially high pressure to commit without parents’ knowledge or permission) is part of their MO.

Opus Dei also has some SD of minors by nonpriests (or at least, it did when my friend was growing up OD). Since OD is much larger than LC/RC, and appears to have fewer complaints about excessive pressure (at least, to my limited knowledge), I find it plausible that when minors are subject to excessive pressure to commit to OD, it’s individual abuse of SD. In any case, I think it’s best to leave SD to priests, especially for minors; most kids just need a good usual confessor. I haven’t read much from ODAN, since I haven’t had problems with OD, but it would probably be useful to hear what the complaints are, and how widespread they are.

I get the impression that money is very important to both LC and OD, which is a turnoff for me. Also, my OD friend gets very annoyed with Matthew 20, another turnoff since that’s one of my favorite Bible passages (along with John 6 and 1 Samuel:5-6 ).

As to the founders: the LC/RC’s founder’s life is well-known at this point, and he is very unlikely to be canonized, IMO. Josemaria Escriva was canonized during the time when JPII had loosened the requirements; in time, if many more miracles are attributed to St. Escriva’s intercession, I’m sure he’ll lose the Roger Maris-like asterisk next to his name. In January, while Marcial Maciel was on his deathbed, a cardinal said in an interview that the enthusiasm of a founder’s followers would no longer be enough for canonization, and that the former, stricter requirements for the process had been reinstated as of Benedict XVI’s assuming the office. I’ve drawn some conclusions from this. Join me or don’t.

 

[JKS]

chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/187701?eng=y

scroll down to 2. for the interview.

One other contrast:

Opus Dei numeraries more closely resemble Consecrated Virgins Living in the World (re Canon 604) than do 3gfs and 3gms, although there are of course no male Consecrated Virgins. I do know that Third Degree members of Regnum Christi do not make binding vows as Consecrated Virgins do (and priests and religious of course) but make private promises. I don’t know what the case is for numeraries.

Of course, the Church views private promises benignly, but they don’t have the same standing as vows (entered on one’s baptismal certificate, etc).

 

[CSN]

Hi, thanks very much for your response.

I have some questions, however:

(a) What is GS, 3gf, and 3gm ?

(b) What is wrong with Matthew 20 ?

(c) What is the story with the founder of LC ? The abuse ? After one of my high school teachers was falsely accused, my first reaction to any abuse accusations is caution.

 

[JuliaT]

We were involved in FAMILIA, a Regnum Christi activity, until our diocese forbid it. We do not know why it happened, but the Diocese of Orange is anything but conservative.

Being a part of FAMILIA strengenthed EVERY part of our life; marriage, prayer, devotion…

I still read some of their publications like FAITH and FAMILY Magazine and The National Catholic Register.