Opus Dei: Fact and fiction

Opus Dei (Latin for "the work of God") is an organization within the Catholic Church that emphasizes the Catholic belief that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The order was founded in Spain, 1928 by a Catholic priest Josemaría Escrivá with the approval of Pope Pius XII. All the members follow the so called "plan of life," made up of spiritual practices such as daily Mass, rosary, spiritual reading, and mental prayer, as well as Opus Dei prayers and customs. Opus Dei has often been described as the most controversial force within the Catholic Church. Contraversies about Opus Dei have been centered around of its alleged secretiveness, its recruiting methods, and the alleged right leaning politics of its members. Dan Brown calls Opus Dei a sect and a cult. He claimed in his book Da Vinci Code that Opus Dei was a secret organization aim was to defeat the Priory of Sion and those who seek to uncover the truth about Christianity and Jesus Christ. According to Brown, Opus Dei covers up Christ’s alleged marriage to Mary Magdalene. There has been also a great deal of controversy over Opus Dei because of the strictness of its religious structure.
Opus Dei has more than 80,000 members worldwide in more than 90 different countries, they are wealthy and influential in politics and business.