Argentinian prosecutors want to question Opus Dei's number two as part of their ongoing investigation into the alleged enslavement and trafficking of 43 women

How high does this scandal go?

🧵A THREAD 🧵

ncronline.org/news/argentini… Prosecutors are seeking to question Mariano Fazio, the Opus Dei auxiliary vicar and likely heir to its current leader Fernando Ocáriz

Fazio is the most senior Opus Dei figure to be drawn into the case, which was brought by federal prosecutors in September

BREAKING NEWS

Opus Dei's number two is formally accused of human trafficking by federal prosecutors in Argentina

He is highest-ranking official indicted in case linked to the enslavement and trafficking of 42 women and girls

Scoop by @paulabistagnino

eldiario.es/sociedad/numer… Mariano Fazio, pictured here on the right meeting Pope Leo last month, is the heir apparent to the group’s current leader Fernando Ocáriz

Prosecutors request that he now be summoned for formal questioning about his role in this explosive case

Pope Leo proclaims “urgent” need to root out “abuse of power, authority, conscience and spirituality” in his first statement on Church abuses

Is he paving the way to shut down Opus Dei, which is accused of all of these?

A THREAD 🧵 His comments about the abuse crisis came in a letter celebrating a new play about the excellent @larryportera

Together with her colleagues @chapatucombi, @danielyovera and Patricia Lachira, Paola worked tirelessly to expose the abuses of the Sodality of Christian Life

“A living hell”

X-Men star talks about growing up gay inside the abusive Opus Dei cult

🧵 A THREAD

smh.com.au/lifestyle/life… Tim Pocock attended an Opus Dei school in Australia, where he was subjected to “constant monitoring” and “manipulation”

It “left me completely unprepared for the real world, unable to be myself and, most importantly, ashamed of who I was”

https://x.com/realtimpocock/status/1932114106590597311

Opus Dei has *just* confirmed that it has submitted the final draft of its revised statutes to the Vatican for approval

After three years of delays and foot-dragging, reform of this abusive cult now looks *imminent*

🧵A THREAD

opusdei.org/en-us/article/… This looks set to be the first big test of Pope Leo – will he come down hard on Opus Dei, or will the reforms fall short?

Clearly, this is a priority for him: Leo used one of his first audiences to summon Opus Dei’s leadership for an update on reforms

ncronline.org/opinion/pope-l…

💣 BOMBSHELL NEWS 💣

Pope Leo gives Opus Dei SIX MONTHS to pass comprehensive reforms

Leader of group is told: if you don't clean up by December, “necessary measures will be taken”

🧵 A THREAD 🧵

cronista.com/espana/actuali… The ultimatum was made in a letter sent directly by the pope to the head of Opus Dei

As well as the reforms, Leo has also demanded an investigation into abuse allegations

These include human trafficking, enslavement – as well as physical and psychological abuse of members

With Donald Trump now turning against "sleazebag" Leonard Leo, the man who helped him stack the courts, it feels like a good moment to re-up this piece about Leo's deep connections to Opus Dei

A THREAD 🧵

rollingstone.com/politics/polit… Interesting how Trump writes that Leo "probably hates America, and obviously has his own separate ambitions"

Would be interesting to hear what Trump thinks those "separate ambitions" might be

Maybe someone could even ask Leo - although he usually only speaks to friendly media

Opus Dei members told to brace for “dramatic, traumatic, historic and revolutionary” changes as Pope Leo XIV tackles decades of abuse inside the organisation

A THREAD 🧵 Vatican sources have reassured Opus Dei victims who have long campaigned for justice that they “won’t be disappointed” as huge reforms edge closer

eldiario.es/sociedad/alivi…

Pope Leo meets Opus Dei boss in a private audience to get an "update" on its reforms

You might recall Opus Dei cancelled a vote on its reforms hours after Francis passed away

Leo "listened with great interest to the explanations given" - I bet he did!

opusdei.org/es/article/aud… Looks like Leo is keen to continue the good work started by Francis in reforming this abusive cult

Opus Dei's strategy of dragging its feet and waiting for Francis to die may well have backfired

https://x.com/gareth_gore/status/1915813908587205092

Photos have emerged of the new pope presiding over a special mass to commemorate the controversial founder of Opus Dei

What should we read into them? Is he a supporter? Is Pope Leo XIV perhaps not as progressive as we thought he was?

A THREAD 🧵

open.substack.com/pub/garethgore… The mass took place back in 2019 in the Peruvian city of Chiclayo, where Robert Prevost was a bishop

The special mass was dedicated to Josemaría Escrivá, the controversial founder of Opus Dei

open.substack.com/pub/garethgore…

An Opus Dei cardinal stands over the pope’s dead body wearing his cardinal robes – in defiance of restrictions imposed on him by the late pontiff

What should we read into this brazenly provocative act?

A THREAD 🧵 Juan Luis Cipriani was disciplined in 2019 after being accused of sexually abusing a minor

Pope Francis banned him from making public statements – AND from wearing cardinal vestments

thecatholicherald.com/cipriani-contr…

Scandal erupts at Vatican as an Opus Dei cardinal who was ousted by Pope Francis amid accusations of sexual abuse is spotted taking part in the pre-conclave, as the horse-trading begins to elect the next Pope

A THREAD 🧵

cruxnow.com/vatican/2025/0… Juan Luis Cipriani, the first-ever Opus Dei cardinal and a towering right-wing figure in the Church, was first spotted in Rome last week

He was seen praying over the dead body of Pope Francis, the man who banned him from his ministry, forcing him into effective exile in Spain

"Opus Dei has spent decades seeking to infiltrate the American conservative movement and has poured money and resources into penetrating Washington's corridors of power”

Great piece from @Newsweek

newsweek.com/pope-political… Gore noted that Pope Francis had been in a "standoff" with the group, which was set to vote on new statutes over the coming weeks. Prior to his death, the group put a hold on the new statute votes.

When he died on Monday, Pope Francis had been on the cusp of signing into canon law a huge reform of Opus Dei, an abusive cult at the heart of the Church

Those reforms may now never happen

A THREAD 🧵 Opus Dei was due to vote on a new set of statutes, which have been rammed down its throat by the Vatican, at a meeting this week

But, within hours of Francis’ death, the vote was quietly cancelled

catholicnewsagency.com/news/263607/op…

The Far Right is Coming for the Vatican

Excellent piece from the fantastic @ninaburleigh

open.substack.com/pub/americanpo… “The ultra-conservative wing of the US Catholic Church – a group made up of cardinals, bishops, priests and wealthy individuals – has spent years preparing for this precise moment”

Francis did more than any previous pope to address the abuse and exploitative of Opus Dei, a manipulative cult at the heart of the Catholic Church

But his death leaves that work unfinished. So, what’s next?

A THREAD 🧵 It all started out so well

Early on in his papacy, Francis saw Opus Dei as an ally in his efforts to clean up the Vatican after years of scandal and corruption

He picked several Opus Dei figures to oversee those efforts

Do you think @markwahlberg realises that @HallowApp, the Catholic prayer app he fronts, is actively promoting Opus Dei – a group accused of human trafficking, child grooming, drugging its members and spiritual abuse – this Lent?

🧵 A THREAD

foxnews.com/media/mark-wah… Opus Dei has been crowing about the partnership with Hallow and Wahlberg all week.

Hallow launched its Lent challenge on Wednesday.

This year, it is "inspired" by the The Way, a book written by Opus Dei's controversial founder Josemaría Escrivá.

opusdei.org/en/article/hal…

👀

Federalist Society boss overheard telling private gathering that Chief Justice John Roberts was a solid pick for the Supreme Court because “he attends an Opus Dei evening of reflection once a month”

via @Streamdotorgstream.org/as-a-catholic-… When the Federalist Society advocated for Roberts to be nominated to the Supreme Court in 2005, it was the first time it had campaigned publicly for a particular candidate

nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Nice to see Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, taking time out of his busy Project 2025 schedule to spend some time with leaders of the European far-right in Madrid at the weekend

politico.eu/article/lookin… I wonder if he got to visit the Opus Dei national headquarters in Madrid while he was there 🤔

theguardian.com/us-news/articl…

When a victim of sexual abuse approached Opus Dei to report one of its cardinals in 2018, the organisation refused to even speak with him

Soon after, he started to receive threats — and told that, if he went public, he'd be sued and his identity leaked to the press

A THREAD 🧵 This extraordinary story has come to light thanks to the excellent reporting of Iñigo Domínguez at @el_pais

After the victim was ignored by Opus Dei, he wrote to the Pope, who removed the cardinal from duties

elpais.com/sociedad/2025-…

"Gore did his homework ... OPUS has certainly become required reading on the subject of Opus Dei"

Another great review of my new book OPUS, this time from the good people at @americamag

A THREAD 🧵

americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2… "The first thing to note about Opus is the tremendous amount of research that went into the project. This involved serious attention to many published works, interviews with present and former members of Opus Dei (including significant leadership figures), and archival research."