Index
of Forbidden Books
Introduction
Opus
Dei controls the information that members of the organization have
access to. For example, members must ask permission of their spiritual
directors before reading any book, even if it is required reading
for a university course. The director checks the title against a
list which is usually kept under lock and key in the Director's
office.
This
list is based on one that was used by the Roman Catholic Church
until 1948 (see link below for the 276-page list). Though the Catholic
Church has abolished the list, Opus Dei still uses it and has added
even more books to it.
Some
of the authors on the original list include Victor Hugo, Immanuel
Kant, Honoré de Balzac, John Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire and
Emile Zola.
ODAN
has heard many stories from former members about the Index of Forbidden
Books, including the addition of new authors to this list; for example:
- In
an interview with Paul Moses in "Fact,
Fiction And Opus Dei," Fr. Alvaro de Silva said "that
despite his advanced degree in theology, he had to ask permission
to read leading Catholic scholars whose works were on Opus Dei's
list of forbidden books...he was forbidden to read the work of
the Rev. Raymond Brown, who served on a papal commission and was
widely considered the leading Catholic Bible scholar in the United
States until his death in 1998."
-
In The Vocation Trap, former
numerary Joseph Gonzales says, "During my stint as a numerary,
I witnessed the numeraries, including the directors, intermittently
burning books in the garden at the back of the center. Usually,
Protestant Bibles and books on the theory of evolution."
-
In "Princeton Catholics
divided," by Deborah Kovach, The Trenton Times,
October 22, 1989, History professor Michael Jimenez, a Catholic
who has opposed Opus Dei because of its ideology and tactics,
is among those who contend that McCloskey [Opus Dei priest] told
students not to take courses with certain professors because they
were "dangerous," and told professors he would advise
students not to read philosophers such as Nietzsche and Hume because
they were also "dangerous" to young minds.
- In
Catholic Sects: Opus Dei,
Alberto Moncada says, "Members are practically forbidden
to read anything but specialized professional literature without
the superiors' permission, and even professional matters are ideologically
tinted. Recently a numerary who had to read the Communist
Manifesto because of his studies, was provided with an expurgated
version. The organization's Index of Forbidden Books is longer
than the Church's abolished version."
Posted
November 16, 2003 |
