Interesting fact about Opus Dei

[canetoad]

Opus Dei’s Influence on the U.S. Judiciary

Snip....

In 1982, Pope John Paul II designated the group as a “personal prelature,” that is, they are under the sole jurisdiction of the pope and no other prelate. Its website states, “Opus Dei’s mission is to spread the Christian message that every person is called to holiness and that every honest work can be sanctified.” As of 2017 there are 92,892 lay members and 2,212 priests worldwide.

https://churchandstate.org.uk/2019/03/opus-deis-influence-on-the-u-s-judiciary/

Given that several Justices are known members of Opus Dei, could this possibly prompt a clash between SCOTUS and the Pope?

The article is several years old - 2019 but well worth a read for the influence it has on US politics.

[magicarpet]

1. Part of the fascistic theocracy populating the churches of America.

Democracy is so cumbersome and annoying to these folks.

Just so burdensome.

[RockRaven]

2. I think you will find that the RWers in the judiciary are not as loyal to religious authority

as they are to their RW political project. That is their ultimate god.

[hlthe2b]

3. Opus dei is among the overreaching splinter groups that Pope Leo is taking a hard look at.

He met with the author/investigator of the very critical book that exposed a lot of what they are all about.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/06/opus-dei-gareth-gore-pope-leo

Interview
He spent years investigating Opus Dei, a Catholic group accused of a vast conspiracy of abuse. Then Pope Leo asked to meet

.

[canetoad]

4. Good to know

Thanks.

[TommyT139]

6. Pope Leo has already begun rooting out

...some of the main Opus Dei figures in the US, among them Archbishop of NY Timothy Dolan, whose resignation was accepted in Dec. 2025. There's been a lot of overlap of Opus Dei connected people with not only key Trump supporters (Alito, Thomas, Barr) but also some of the "brains" and money behind Trump, Project 2025, and the Federalist Society, like Leonard Leo.

I just came across this substack, which goes into a bit of the power struggles between conservative American Roman Catholic leaders, and the more progressive Roman Catholicism embodied by Pope Leo.
https://indietheology.substack.com/p/duc-in-altum-bishop-nicholas-dimarzio

[canetoad]

7. Thanks

Looks interesting.

[jfz9580m]

5. Thanks canetoad

I have been thinking about the separation of faith from civil society lately.


It is complicated by machinic nuisances as faith leaders are also engaged in decent work.
It is about diseased influence of faith on society versus benign influences:

https://www.salon.com/2026/04/06/the-chicago-faith-leaders-who-resisted-trumps-immigration-raids/

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/1/22/bishop_budde

https://broadview.org/jeffrey-dale-interview/

And it is not how life works. Why do I have JD Vance’s voice in my head when I make a simple point that inspite of being a very pro-abortion atheist, my most helpful doctors etc have sometimes been people who are probably privately people of faith. Faith the not gross and non-intrusive way and I would not go and blare atheist stuff at them yelling “Free speech!!! I will say clunky and annoying things at you!!! You can do the same!! We are all miserable!!! Equality!!!”

Man I love technofascists.