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Opus Dei, the
Da Vinci Code
and ODAN

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Corporal Mortification

Index of Forbidden Books

Opus Dei in the News Media

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Opus Dei 1982 Statutes

Opus Dei 1950 Constitutions

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Resources

Support UsODAN has resources available that provide more details about the negative impact of Opus Dei. We have a comprehensive information packet, an exclusive interview with one of the first Spanish members of Opus Dei, as well as other books written about Opus Dei. 

Information Packet

ODAN distributes an information packet which includes valuable information, much of which comes from those who have been personally involved. Some of the contents include:

  • An Insight into the Early Years of Opus Dei. In this booklet, the prominent early member of Opus Dei who knew the Founder, Escriva, personally describes his personal experiences. This booklet is available exclusively from ODAN.
  • "The Inner World of Opus Dei" by former numerary John J. Roche. Includes evidence from Opus Dei's internal documents.
  • "Winning Recruits in Opus Dei: A Personal Experience" by John J. Roche, The Clergy Review, October 1985.
  • "Leopards in the Temple: Opus Dei, Escriva and John Paul's Rome," by John Martin, The Remnant, June 30, 2002.
  • "What Escriva's beatification says about church" by Michael J. Farrell, National Catholic Reporter.
  • "Opus Dei in the United States" by James Martin, SJ, America magazine
  • "Opus Dei: A Catholic Cult?" University of Notre Dame Scholastic magazine
  • "Personal Reflections: Opus Dei and the Vatican's Pastoral Report, 'Challenge of New Religious Movements (Sects or Cults)'" by Tammy DiNicola
  • "The Unacceptable Face of Opus Dei" by Margaret Gould, a mother whose daughter was recruited by Opus Dei in England.
  • "The Approach to Recruiting in Opus Dei" by Ann M. Schweninger, former numerary.
  • "Forms of Censorship and Control in Opus Dei" A collaboration of former numeraries Ann Schweninger, Peter Malinoski and Tammy DiNicola.
  • "Blind Obedience, Self-Annihilation and Holy Coercion: Three Reasons Why I Left Opus Dei" by Peter T. Malinoski, former numerary.
  • "Fishing for Vocations in Opus Dei" by Tammy DiNicola.
  • "A Day in the Life of a Numerary" by Tammy DiNicola.
  • "Joining Opus Dei" by Tammy DiNicola.
  • ODAN information sheets "Corporal Mortification," "An Apostolate of Friendship and Confidence?" "Writings of the Founder of Opus Dei" and "Opus Dei's Subtle Control of Members."
  • "The Hidden Agenda Behind Opus Dei Service Projects" by Tammy DiNicola.
  • "Personal Reflections: Opus Dei and the Vatican's Pastoral Report, 'Challenge of New Religious Movements (Sects or Cults)'" by Tammy DiNicola.
  • Past issues of the ODAN newsletter.


The suggested donation for the information packet is $30 ($41 Foreign). To order an information packet or any of the other items below, please send a check, money order or cash for the appropriate amount (in US funds) to:

Opus Dei Awareness Network, Inc. (ODAN)
P.O. Box 4333
Pittsfield, MA 01202-4333

Telephone: 413-499-7168
Fax: 413-499-7860
Email: odan@odan.org

Exclusive Interview

An Insight into the Early Years of Opus Dei. This booklet, available exclusively from ODAN, includes the personal experiences of a prominent early member of Opus Dei who knew the Founder, Escriva, personally. Available for a suggested donation of $7 ($10 Foreign).


Books available from ODAN

Beyond the Threshold: A Life in Opus Dei by Maria del Carmen Tapia, Continuum Publishing Company, 1997. An absorbing account written by a former numerary of Opus Dei who knew the Founder personally, and even worked with him in Rome for six years as one of two personal secretaries. After many years in Venezuela as regional directress of the women's branch, Tapia was suddenly called to Rome where she was held in virtual house arrest for nearly eight months, before being expelled from Opus Dei amidst the unbelievably vicious insults and threats from Escriva, Opus Dei's founder. Suggested donation is $21, plus $4 shipping ($11 shipping outside the United States). For more details, see the summary and review by Tammy DiNicola, former numerary.
Saints & Schemers: Opus Dei & Its Paradoxes by Joan Estruch, Oxford University Press, 1996. This book gives a comprehensive, factual history of Opus Dei, with much emphasis on the Founder as the definer of Opus Dei. The author shows how Opus Dei through the years has altered facts of its own history in a desire to change its image. This fascinating book is scholarly written, with an emphasis on theories and questions, making it difficult to read at times. Includes a history of the conflict between the Jesuits and Opus Dei. Suggested donation is $26, plus $4 shipping ($11 shipping outside the United States). For more details, see the book review of the book from a past ODAN newsletter.
Their Kingdom Come: Inside the Secret World of Opus Dei by Robert Hutchison, Thomas Dunne Books, 1997. Contains information about Opus Dei and its power in the Vatican, in international politics, in education, the media, and the finance world. Suggested donation is $28, plus $4 shipping ($11 shipping outside the United States).

Opus Dei: An Investigation into the Secret Society Struggling for Power within the Roman Catholic Church by Michael Walsh, Harper San Francisco, 1989. The inside flap of the book says the author, a Catholic scholar and former Jesuit, "investigates the hidden world of Opus Dei and describes its beginnings in Spain in 1928, its association with Franco's regime, the movement of its headquarters to Rome in 1947, and its development into a worldwide organization." Suggested donation is $19 plus $4 shipping ($11 shipping outside the United States). Because this book is now out-of-print and increasingly hard to find, the copies ODAN has are used, but are in good condition.
Link to the Bibliography of Michael Walsh's book, an excellent resource in itself.

Other Books
 

The Real History Behind the Da Vinci Code The Real History Behind the Da Vinci Code
by Sharan Newman

The Real History Behind the Da Vinci Code

 

Millions have been enthralled by The Da Vinci Code's fascinating historical speculations-and the blockbuster novel's audience has also made bestsellers of several books offering to separate the facts from the fiction.  This comprehensive, encyclopedic volume is written by an acclaimed medievalist-and takes an objective, history-based approach to the phenomenon and the questions it has raised.

 

The Real History Behind the Da Vinci Code gives easy-to-find, clear answers about the people, places, and events that play roles in Dan Brown's tantalizing thriller in a lively, encyclopedic format-shedding new light on some of the deepest mysteries of the Dark Ages.

Opus Dei : An Investigation into the Secret Society Struggling for Power Within the Roman Catholic Church by Michael Walsh, HarperCollins, 1992.

Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steve Hassan, Park Street Press, 1990. (EXCERPT)

Releasing the Bonds by Steve Hassan, Freedom of Mind Press, 2000. (EXCERPT)

The Bureau and the Mole, The Unmasking of Robert Philip Hanssen, the Most Dangerous Double Agent in FBI History by David A. Vise, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2002. Because Robert Hanssen was a supernumerary member of Opus Dei, David Vise discusses "the 'good' and the 'bad' Opus Dei."

Revised May 12, 2006