Opus Dei

Kianda Foundation, a non-profit trust established in 1961 to provide education to women in Kenya, has embarked on building an Endowment Fund that will provide education to 350 girls and 500 women in Kenya in perpetuity. Besides providing women with professional preparation, Kianda’s institutions offer programs of spiritual formation, which they have entrusted to Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church.

“To educate a woman is to educate a family” goes the motto of the Centro de Formación Integral para la Mujer (CEFIM), which was established in La Paz, Bolivia, in 1986. CEFIM offers women of limited means a broad-based program of training and education, which qualifies them for jobs and helps them improve their life situation.

In the largest private audience ever given by a Pope to Jewish leaders, John Paul II received 160 Jewish rabbis and cantors from Israel, the United States and Europe.

On December 29, 2004, the Archdiocese of Denver announced that Pope John Paul II has appointed Bishop Jose Gomez as Archbishop of San Antonio.

"The Da Vinci Code" falsely describes Opus Dei as a "Catholic sect," which makes no sense because Opus Dei has always been fully a part of the Catholic Church.

As part of the Catholic Church, Opus Dei adheres to all its teachings, including those on penance and sacrifice.

"The Da Vinci Code" falsely depicts Opus Dei as having unenlightened views on women and their role in Church and society. The reality is quite otherwise.

"The Da Vinci Code" falsely portrays Opus Dei as being focused on wealth and power. The reality is that Opus Dei is focused on helping people grow in their faith and integrate it with their ordinary activities, not on gaining power to implement some political agenda. Similarly Opus Dei and its members have great concern for the poor, which is an important element of the Christian faith.

First, there was "The Da Vinci Code." Now there's "De-coding Da Vinci." The latter, by writer Amy Welborn, aims to debunk the errors that permeate the best-selling novel by Dan Brown.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor has entrusted the pastoral care of St Thomas More, Swiss Cottage, to the Opus Dei Prelature.