CULT: Secrets of Opus Dei

Founded in Spain in 1928, Opus Dei is a Catholic organization built on discipline, secrecy, and the belief that ordinary life can be a path to holiness. Officially recognized and championed by the Vatican, it has counted powerful politicians, judges, and business leaders among its members. But critics, including many former members, describe something far more troubling behind the devotion: rigid control over members' daily lives, pressure and isolation in recruitment, and the practice of corporal mortification, where the most committed members inflict physical pain on themselves as a form of spiritual discipline. Supporters call it a faithful expression of Catholic tradition, while detractors call it a cult operating with the blessing of the Church. In this episode of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, & Crimes, Vanessa Richardson examines the secretive organization at the heart of the Catholic Church, the line between devotion and control, and the question of how much influence Opus Dei really wields inside the Vatican.

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