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The End of Opus Dei as We Knew It - Divided into Three Parts

The Holy See is set to approve new statutes for the personal prelature of Opus Dei, which will fundamentally alter the structure as it was founded by Josemaría Escrivá. On 14 October, InfoVaticana.com reported that the text of the statutes is finalised and expected to be promulgated within weeks.

A Three-Part Division

Following the motu proprio Ad charisma tuendum in 2022 and recent updates to Canon Law, the reform will divide Opus Dei into three distinct legal entities:

1. A clerical prelature comprising only priests incardinated in it.
2. The Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, reformulated for diocesan priests who are spiritually linked to the original charism.
3. A public association of the faithful, gathering lay members (numeraries, associates, supernumeraries and cooperators).

These changes effectively end Opus Dei’s existence as a single juridical and spiritual entity. The name may remain in use, but it will no longer describe a unified organisation.

Loss of Authority Over the Laity

The most significant change is the removal of the prelate’s authority over lay members.

The laity will have their own governance, independent of the prelate and thus bound to the local bishops.

The Vatican's Perspective

Vatican officials describe the move as a necessary adjustment to current Church doctrine on personal prelature.

According to InfoVaticana, it is an effort to limit Opus Dei’s institutional power.

An anonymous Curia official told InfoVaticana, "It's not a punishment, but a restoration of proportion. Opus Dei had begun to act like a church within the Church.

Internal reactions

Inside Opus Dei, silence and concern dominate. While members officially await the decree, many privately admit that the reform changes the institution’s very essence.

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Orthocat

Though some might rejoice due to the exposés of the institute likening it to the Legion of Christ founded by Marcel Maciel, I have found Opus Dei to be a mixed blessing being at the same time an organization dedicated to spreading the living out of Catholic faith in daily life AND a highly cult-like in it's structure. However, make no mistake; the real reason it needs to be neutralized because it's "conservative" and the woke Vatican CAN'T abide that!

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P. O'B

Omnes sectae in tres partes divisae sunt. (I am not a fan of Opus Dei, maybe the only thing I shared with Francis. And Josemaria Escriva had great disdain for Francis's Jesuits.)

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eva333

Where Prevost/Bergoglio stick their noses in is to destroy the little good that remains in the Church. They not only don't care about the bad ones, but they are also part of their ranks.

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Coenobium

The Opus Dei issued an official statement responding to an article titled “Opus Dei on the Verge of Ceasing to Exist”, published by InfoVaticana.
In its statement, the Communications Office describes the piece as an “opinion article based on anonymous sources and signed under a pseudonym.” It also confirms that the proposal to reform the institution’s statutes was submitted to the Holy See in June, and that there are no updates yet.
The Opus Dei statement itself is unsigned - anonymous.
The communiqué does not actually deny the substance of the original article (the existence or imminence of the reform); it simply repeats that “there are no new developments.”
The response betrays a sense of institutional unease: Opus Dei appears to feel it is losing control of the narrative regarding its internal reform.

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