I went to one of the Opus Dei schools in the US. Yes, they suck. Their religious views are extremely conservative. Many Catholics that were schooled in other schools run by other Catholic orders, such as the Jesuits or Dominicans, would hardly recognize the teachings and operations inside the Opus Dei schools.
My school was junior high and high school. We had a full mass everyday before lunch. Your school advisor was more concerned about your relationship with god than your academic courses. My school was girls only. There was a separate boys only school. Boys weren’t allowed to walk into the school after hours to find their sister or whatnot. The teachings were very clear about so many things being deeply sinful and the need to be a good Catholic, eg you really must stay a virgin until marriage, absolutely don’t even steal a pack of gum. Heavy emphasis on a lot of praying. We were taught by the numeraries, the single, abstinent lay women living in a nice dorm-like large house. They were similar to nuns living in a convent, except they didn’t get a pension from the church like nuns do.
“ numerary assistants (women who clean Opus Dei properties) have reportedly, been trafficked or are trapped in situations without benefits, fair salaries, and freedom to leave”
For real. I've never verified this statement, but I was told by a professor at my Jesuit school that most orders of priests take a vow of poverty or supporting those in need (kind of the basis of Catholic social doctrine) but these guys like purposefully support the wealthy of society.
I went to Opus Dei school from grades 6-10. All girls, hyper conservative. My “theology” teacher told us it’s a mortal going-to-hell sin to stick any part of your body in another person’s body before you’re married. I asked her if that included picking someone’s nose. The straight-faced answer: “Yes.”
We had to go to prolife rallies and daily mass. I knew about the evils of abortion before I knew what sex was.
It really messed me up, a lot of internalized misogyny. I had a very abusive home life and probably would have been better able to distinguish that all that getting raped was not my fault if I didn’t have the church telling me constantly how I was going to hell for having a vagina.
There was a LOT of money in that school. And a lot of that was probably from unsavory sources. Catholics tied to construction companies, sanitation work, and the other industries normally affiliated with the mob.
>2535: Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children. Moreover, it is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young.
>Question: Why exactly is sexual intercourse outside of marriage a mortal sin?
>Answer: Sexual intercourse outside of marriage is a grave sin because in order to perform the acts that lead to the bringing forth of new life, the couple need to be united in a stable, permanent union that guarantees that the child to be born can be cared for and brought up for the service of God and neighbor in a consistent and reliable way.
>The principal end of sexual intercourse is the procreation of children, and so the pleasure of the couple or the satisfaction of desire is only right if it is in the context of a union that can take care of the new life. This means that the man and woman have to love each other in so committed a way that they are willing to bear children to each other. To deal with sexual intercourse in any less careful way is a grave sin.
The catholic stance isn't that sex is solely for procreation but that every sexual act needs to be open to procreation.
>Question: Did the Catholic Church ever teach that sex was to be performed only to have children.
>Answer: It has always been a part of the Church’s teaching that procreation and the rearing of children is the primary end of sex, the unitive aspect being a secondary end inasmuch as it presupposes the procreative. But this doesn’t entail that the couple must always intend the primary end, as long as they do not frustrate nature’s purposes.
>The Church teaches that the sexual act itself must always have its intrinsic ordering toward the generation of children. What this means is that the couple can never do anything to intentionally thwart the procreative end of sex, since procreation is what sex is for. To do so would be to violate human nature, and thus to violate God’s will. Pope Paul VI says:
>The Church, nevertheless, in urging men to the observance of the precepts of the natural law, which it interprets by its constant doctrine, teaches that each and every marital act must of necessity retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life (Humanae Vitae 11; emphasis added).
>If a couple has just reasons for not having children at a particular time, and they desire to express their love through sexual intercourse, they may do so during the woman’s infertile periods. This is called natural family planning (NFP).
>NFP is not contrary to nature because it in no way frustrates nature’s design for sex. It is nature’s doing that the woman doesn’t conceive during this time period. And since sexual intercourse during infertile periods is in agreement with nature’s design for sex, it is in agreement with God’s will, for God’s will is expressed in the order of nature. Pope Pius XI taught as much in 1930 in Casti Connubi (59).
>So, although a couple doesn’t have to intend to have a child in every act of sexual intercourse, they may never actively impede the sexual act from being ordered toward producing a child.
The post takes no position on whether the teaching's right or wrong, and it doesn't defend or condem Catholics.
It simply notes (and provides sources showing) that an Opus Dei school teaching that sex before marriage's a mortal sin wasn't doing anything distinctive to Opus Dei.
Marie1420 | 11 hours ago
I went to one of the Opus Dei schools in the US. Yes, they suck. Their religious views are extremely conservative. Many Catholics that were schooled in other schools run by other Catholic orders, such as the Jesuits or Dominicans, would hardly recognize the teachings and operations inside the Opus Dei schools.
Imaginary-Method7175 | 11 hours ago
Can you share some more? How so?
Marie1420 | 11 hours ago
My school was junior high and high school. We had a full mass everyday before lunch. Your school advisor was more concerned about your relationship with god than your academic courses. My school was girls only. There was a separate boys only school. Boys weren’t allowed to walk into the school after hours to find their sister or whatnot. The teachings were very clear about so many things being deeply sinful and the need to be a good Catholic, eg you really must stay a virgin until marriage, absolutely don’t even steal a pack of gum. Heavy emphasis on a lot of praying. We were taught by the numeraries, the single, abstinent lay women living in a nice dorm-like large house. They were similar to nuns living in a convent, except they didn’t get a pension from the church like nuns do.
[OP] horseradishstalker | 10 hours ago
“ numerary assistants (women who clean Opus Dei properties) have reportedly, been trafficked or are trapped in situations without benefits, fair salaries, and freedom to leave”
rasta_faerie | 10 hours ago
> Numeraries practice forms of "corporal mortification," which may include the use of a cilice (a spiked chain) and the discipline (a knotted rope).
What the fuck
iridescent-shimmer | 8 hours ago
I thought everyone learned about that when the Da Vinci Code was popular 🤣 I'm kidding but it is fucked up.
Imaginary-Method7175 | 10 hours ago
Thank you for the explanation. I’d rather be a nun..
eatstarsandsunsets | 7 hours ago
Did you go to the same school I went to in the Chicago suburbs?
RogueFox76 | 12 hours ago
Opus Dei sucks
ErsatzHaderach | 9 hours ago
he_spoke_the_truth.jpg
iridescent-shimmer | 8 hours ago
For real. I've never verified this statement, but I was told by a professor at my Jesuit school that most orders of priests take a vow of poverty or supporting those in need (kind of the basis of Catholic social doctrine) but these guys like purposefully support the wealthy of society.
scentedcandle0 | 7 hours ago
Of course. They’re a child abusing cult and need powerful friends to keep them out of trouble. Same as it ever was.
apursewitheyes | 10 hours ago
Ooooh thank you for posting!! I watched a documentary about Opus Dei and this guy’s reporting a year or so ago, great to get an update
eatstarsandsunsets | 7 hours ago
What’s the name of the doc?
eatstarsandsunsets | 7 hours ago
I went to Opus Dei school from grades 6-10. All girls, hyper conservative. My “theology” teacher told us it’s a mortal going-to-hell sin to stick any part of your body in another person’s body before you’re married. I asked her if that included picking someone’s nose. The straight-faced answer: “Yes.”
We had to go to prolife rallies and daily mass. I knew about the evils of abortion before I knew what sex was.
It really messed me up, a lot of internalized misogyny. I had a very abusive home life and probably would have been better able to distinguish that all that getting raped was not my fault if I didn’t have the church telling me constantly how I was going to hell for having a vagina.
There was a LOT of money in that school. And a lot of that was probably from unsavory sources. Catholics tied to construction companies, sanitation work, and the other industries normally affiliated with the mob.
Eastern-Opposite9521 | 6 hours ago
You may not agree with the belief, but sex before marriage being a mortal sin isn't some extreme Opes Dei stance.
It's the official position of the catholic church. So, everyone from the pope on down will hold it.
https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_three/section_two/chapter_two/article_6/ii_the_vocation_to_chastity.html
>2535: Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children. Moreover, it is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young.
Further explanation...
https://www.catholic.com/qa/why-extra-marital-sex-is-a-mortal-sin
>Question: Why exactly is sexual intercourse outside of marriage a mortal sin?
>Answer: Sexual intercourse outside of marriage is a grave sin because in order to perform the acts that lead to the bringing forth of new life, the couple need to be united in a stable, permanent union that guarantees that the child to be born can be cared for and brought up for the service of God and neighbor in a consistent and reliable way.
>The principal end of sexual intercourse is the procreation of children, and so the pleasure of the couple or the satisfaction of desire is only right if it is in the context of a union that can take care of the new life. This means that the man and woman have to love each other in so committed a way that they are willing to bear children to each other. To deal with sexual intercourse in any less careful way is a grave sin.
The catholic stance isn't that sex is solely for procreation but that every sexual act needs to be open to procreation.
https://www.catholic.com/qa/intent-to-conceive-not-necessary
>Question: Did the Catholic Church ever teach that sex was to be performed only to have children.
>Answer: It has always been a part of the Church’s teaching that procreation and the rearing of children is the primary end of sex, the unitive aspect being a secondary end inasmuch as it presupposes the procreative. But this doesn’t entail that the couple must always intend the primary end, as long as they do not frustrate nature’s purposes.
>The Church teaches that the sexual act itself must always have its intrinsic ordering toward the generation of children. What this means is that the couple can never do anything to intentionally thwart the procreative end of sex, since procreation is what sex is for. To do so would be to violate human nature, and thus to violate God’s will. Pope Paul VI says:
>The Church, nevertheless, in urging men to the observance of the precepts of the natural law, which it interprets by its constant doctrine, teaches that each and every marital act must of necessity retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life (Humanae Vitae 11; emphasis added).
>If a couple has just reasons for not having children at a particular time, and they desire to express their love through sexual intercourse, they may do so during the woman’s infertile periods. This is called natural family planning (NFP).
>NFP is not contrary to nature because it in no way frustrates nature’s design for sex. It is nature’s doing that the woman doesn’t conceive during this time period. And since sexual intercourse during infertile periods is in agreement with nature’s design for sex, it is in agreement with God’s will, for God’s will is expressed in the order of nature. Pope Pius XI taught as much in 1930 in Casti Connubi (59).
>So, although a couple doesn’t have to intend to have a child in every act of sexual intercourse, they may never actively impede the sexual act from being ordered toward producing a child.
Waystar_BluthCo | 2 hours ago
Imagine copy pasting all of that to defend the fuckin’ Catholics lmao
Eastern-Opposite9521 | 21 minutes ago
The post takes no position on whether the teaching's right or wrong, and it doesn't defend or condem Catholics.
It simply notes (and provides sources showing) that an Opus Dei school teaching that sex before marriage's a mortal sin wasn't doing anything distinctive to Opus Dei.
It's standard mainstream Catholic doctrine.
eatstarsandsunsets | 5 hours ago
Is picking someone else’s nose in your foreplay?
fuckforcedsignup | 4 hours ago
It is now
Dubs9448 | 8 hours ago
I feel like the article is kind of unfinished. Or maybe anti-climactic.
eatstarsandsunsets | an hour ago
https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/gareth-gore-my-audience-pope-leo