20 Responses to “Shameless Gossip Column”

1. 1 Joe Six Pack Dec 4th, 2006 at 10:56 pm

   Journalist, Bob Novak

   Senator Sam Brownback

   Radio Host, Laura Ingraham

   TV Host, Larry Kudlow

   all converted to Catholicism by Opus

   I think the list goes on…

2. 2 Tobias Petrus Dec 5th, 2006 at 12:09 am

   Hmm, besides Opus Dei, what common bond links these four people, I wonder.

3. 3 Willowspillow Dec 5th, 2006 at 8:04 am

   Tobias Petrus said:
   “besides Opus Dei, what common bond links these four people, I wonder.”

   They’re all white?

4. 4 Ambrosius Dec 5th, 2006 at 8:20 am

   There’s also Robert Bork, who was converted by a Opus Dei priest.

   It’s also important to distinguish between being a formal member of Opus Dei — a numerary or supernumerary –, being a “cooperator” who, though not a member, has informal but real ties to the movement, and just a normal Catholic who receives some or all of his spiritual direction from members of Opus Dei. I ’spect the list of folks who get spiritual direction from solid Opus Dei priests is far longer than the list of those who are formal members of the movement.

5. 5 Tobias Petrus Dec 5th, 2006 at 9:06 am

   Willowspillow:

   They’re all conservatives, of one stripe or another. Isn’t the classic claim/slander that Opus Dei is “too involved in politics,” or something like that?

6. 6 Willowspillow Dec 5th, 2006 at 9:24 am

   Yes, Tobias, I knew that…I was just being a smart alec. :-)

   But I think that it would be difficult to be a faithful Opus Deian (or faithful Catholic) and be a liberal in the modern Democratic mould. Libertarian, perhaps, but liberal? Can’t see it.

   I am not an American citizen, so my involvement in US domestic politics is fairly limited, but it strikes me that just going by “party line” issues, more Catholics (by which I mean those who follow what the Faith teaches) would come down on the Republican side.

   (I don’t like Republican foreign policy but I don’t like Democrat social policy…how’s that for “fair and balanced”…)

7. 7 Ben Douglass Dec 5th, 2006 at 6:56 pm

   They’re not just conservatives. They’re all pro-war neoconservative republicans, it appears. Perhaps Opus Dei should make more of an effort to form their proselytes in Catholic social doctrine.

8. 8 Tobias Petrus Dec 5th, 2006 at 7:10 pm

   If I recall correctly, Ben, Bob Novak was denounced in the same breath with Pat Buchanan by a certain prominent neoconservative on account of his (Novak’s) “unpatriotic” criticisms of the war in Iraq. Also, I recall Novak on TV talking about his personal interviews with the Catholic foreign minister and vice-PM of Iraq, Tariq Aziz. Oh, and Novak defended Iraq’s expulsions of a team of weapons inspectors because the CIA and Mossad were using the inspections as a cover for their own operations in Iraq. So I don’t think that Bob Novak is a “pro-war neoconservative.”

9. 9 Tobias Petrus Dec 5th, 2006 at 7:11 pm

   In fact, Novak tends to be a critic of Israel, despite being himself of Jewish ancestry.

10. 10 Ben Douglass Dec 5th, 2006 at 7:50 pm

    Sorry, I was thinking of Michael Novak, who pitched the case for the Iraq war with the Vatican.

11. 11 Tobias Petrus Dec 5th, 2006 at 8:00 pm

    Yeah, it’s easy to confuse the two Novaks. I think that you are right about most of the others — I mean what side they took on the Iraq war. But I think that some of the other bloggers here are also pro-war, so be forewarned.

12. 12 Clara Dec 5th, 2006 at 8:23 pm

    Yes, I get the impression that the bloggers of the Cornell Society for a Good Time are, on the whole, atypically hawkish as lovers of the Latin Mass go. I won’t speak for anyone else, but I myself was certainly a supporter of the Iraq war, and it’s actually a bit mysterious to me why Trads as a group tend to be so opposed to the use of military force. Maybe we should make a separate post about this sometime and let people share their thoughts on the matter.

    Anyway, whatever your views on war, conservatives make the most natural allies for serious Catholics these days, since they are more obviously sympathetc to social issues that Catholics care about — particularly relating to 1) life and 2) marriage and family.

13. 13 mater marci Dec 5th, 2006 at 11:32 pm

    Scott Hahn isn’t exactly in the same league as these other fellows, but he is a famous person who is in Opus Dei — and he has a new book out, which is quite good in explaining the nuts and bolts of Opus Dei spirituality. I get a pretty big kick out of those who think Opus Dei spirituality is too “rigorous” or “conservative” since those of us who try to follow the traddie path do equal or more than what is required of Opus Dei folk. But — for A+ spiritual direction (I speak from experience) Opus Dei simply cannot be beat. BTW — one of the hallmarks of Opus Dei is that the members do not wear their membership “on their sleeves” so to speak — so I imagine everyone probably knows an Opus Dei member, priest or lay.

14. 14 Tobias Petrus Dec 6th, 2006 at 12:36 am

    It seems that the worst anyone can throw at Opus Dei, politically speaking, is that they helped Generalissimo Franco in Spain. But Franco was in fact the right man in the right place at the right time, so that is actually entirely to the credit of Opus Dei.

15. 15 Clara Dec 6th, 2006 at 12:44 am

    Indeed, given that the communists were destroying churches and murdering priests and religious in great numbers, it’s pretty hard to fault any faithful Catholic for siding with the fascists in that war.

16. 16 Joe Six Pack Dec 6th, 2006 at 9:34 am

    I find it hard too to join with the many traditional Catholics who bash Opus Dei. They bring in a lot of conversions. And, the fact that they have this reputation in some segments of society as being secretive and even dangerous, I think makes them even more cool.

    It’s the same type of suspicions that the world used to have of the Jesuits. The pope’s secret assassins and all that hooey.

17. 17 Tobias Petrus Dec 6th, 2006 at 10:42 am

    And even the Franciscans and Dominicans were regarded as skulking malcontents at one time.

18. 18 papabear Dec 6th, 2006 at 11:23 am

    I don’t have problems with the group, just with the hype.

    As for socal doctrine of the Church–I don’t see OD at the forefront of reforming political orders. It’s one thing to admit that not much can be done, it’s another to be ignorant and think that everything is ok.

19. 19 Tobias Petrus Dec 6th, 2006 at 5:24 pm

    Opus Dei president?

    http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/n
    ew.php?n=8212

20. 20 Anonymous Dec 19th, 2006 at 1:57 pm

    I used to pal around with friends in the old days who were members of Opus Dei. One thing that really used to bug them was when I would pontificate that work was a punishment for sin, a la Adam and Eve being expelled from a relatively work-free Paradise, and all that sweat-of-the-brow stuff. If you have any Opus Dei friends, argue this position to get a rise out of them. But don’t call them “Opey Dopes” to their face. This could be considered an insult.

    I never cared for that they kind of kept their Opus Dei identity a secret and for how they gave secular names to things, a la the Legionaries of Christ. However, they were fun to pal around with and they did have some nice digs…

    A.N. Mous

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