Benedict XVI resigned from the papacy because he no longer had the energy to lead the Church in its transformations. It took Francis I, judiciously, nine years to draw up the new Constitution of the Roman Curia and another year to issue a “Decree” changing the role of Opus Dei (OD) within the Church. Its director will no longer be a bishop, and the laity will depend on the territorial diocesan organization.

For example, the symbolic shrine of Torreciudad will no longer be managed by the OD, but by the parish priest who houses this lavish pilgrimage complex. The sanctuary used to give less than 5% of its income to the Church, this will no longer be the case. In Guayaquil: will Torremar and Delta become part of the Confederation of Catholic Schools?

Faced with these changes, some of the ODs say that nothing is happening, others are afraid, but no one will want to openly contradict the Pope, even if they point out his environment or suggest his senility (two ways to disqualify him).

What is Opus Dei and what is it for? These are the changes that Pope Francis is ordering in the religious institution in order to lose the hierarchy that John Paul II gave it 40 years ago.

Among observers, some will see in these changes a film between elites and codes, between OD and Jesuits. This article is not interested in the canonical dimension, much less the social one, but in the spiritual meaning of the change, which is why I start from the central call that officially defines OD, which is: “to seek personal holiness, through the ordinary realities and circumstances through which human lives pass, consecrating these activities, especially work…”.

The problem that this call poses is that this search focuses on the person who wants to be holy, with whom the direction of salvation could be reversed, since this, on the contrary, requires the death of the personal dimension, in order for this to be possible. to be born again in God.

The OD includes very intelligent and important people and it would be good… if they adapt their calling to what the Pope is asking.

It is different to think that God is the one who quietly sanctifies the work, and not a fleeting effort, taken as professional. Let’s not talk about the fact that the unemployed have no work to “sanctify” and who knows if that’s why they might have followed God better.

So perhaps the Church, led by Francis, is simply indicating a direction, an Ignatian discernment, between different spiritualities, since we usually choose them according to our personality. And, if the desire prevails to be in the spheres of power (whether with Franco, Pinochet, Videl, Aznar or Las), to obtain titles of nobility, to achieve “the greatest honor that can be achieved in one country”, or to have power over others, even if it is in the name of seeking their welfare or protection; So, most likely our favorite spirituality just means our favorite sin. Not our salvation.

The OD includes very intelligent and important people, and it would be good if all of them were not afraid of losing what they have won, but to adapt their calling to what the Pope is asking. It is not “Opus Dei”, in the masculine gender, but the work of “God” (in the feminine gender) that matters. The Apostolic Exhortation of October 15, 2023 provides the key to understanding the reform: trust is infinitely better than self-reference. (OR)