Actually HBO Max recently released an excellent documentary featuring thirteen women from around the world who spoke about the psychological, emotional and economic abuse they suffered inside Opus Dei. Check it out.

Juan Luis Cipriani was disciplined in 2019 after being accused of sexually abusing a minor Pope Francis banned him from making public statements – AND from wearing cardinal vestments

To stand over Francis’ dead body in open defiance of the restrictions the late pope had placed upon him is a hugely provocative public statement It’s also a show of force from ultra-conservatives ahead of the upcoming conclave

Cipriani’s actions show a complete lack of remorse “The message is clear: the pope is dead, now it’s time to restart the party,” the man allegedly abused by the cardinal told @el_pais

His actions echo how the allegations were handled by Opus Dei When he came forward, they refused to listen to him Not long after that, he started to receive threats — and told that, if he went public, he'd be sued and his identity leaked

Opus Dei has a long history of ignoring victims — and of using its sprawling global network and vast wealth to cover up abuse I write about this in my book OPUS, which details its connections to dark money, human trafficking and far-right groups

Take the example of Father McCloskey, Opus Dei's star priest in Washington DC, who was accused of sexually abusing a woman Opus Dei flew him to London, where he couldn't be served with legal papers, and silenced the victim with a $1 million payout

Or the Argentinian man who reported being sexually abused at an Opus Dei summer camp He asked Opus Dei to report it to the Vatican, as per protocol They refused, arguing it wasn't an Opus Dei camp — it just happened to be run by Opus Dei members

Or the Opus Dei numerary, a teacher at one of its schools in Spain, who was suddenly transferred to Australia after a student made sexual abuse allegations against him

Just before he died, Francis had been due to sign into law a massive reform of Opus Dei, an abusive cult inside the Catholic Church But within hours of his death, Opus Dei cancelled the vote to approve its new statutes – meaning reform may never happen

Francis first issued a decree demanding reform back in July 2022 It came after allegations the group was involved in human trafficking and enslaving young girls

Opus Dei demurred It submitted revisions to its statutes that were half-hearted – which were rejected by the Vatican Francis issued another decree demanding deeper reform in August 2023

Once again, Opus Dei dragged its feet One Opus Dei donor in the US told me the Pope was “tightening the noose” but wouldn’t “have enough time” The bet was Francis would die before he got what he wanted That is what happened

In recent months, Francis seems to have given Opus Dei the hurry-up The organisation recently said it would FINALLY put its new statutes – drawn up in collaboration with the Vatican – to a vote They were then supposed to go to Francis for approval

Within hours of the pope’s death, that vote was cancelled If the strategy was to wait for the pope to die and hope the next guy will allow Opus Dei to carry on unreformed, it looks like it has worked Everything now hangs on who will be the next pope

If Cipriani’s actions are anything to go by, Opus Dei has emerged from all of this defiant Will it escape reform? Read more in my book “A sober, fact-based indictment” – WASHINGTON POST “Vividly told and excellently researched” – FINANCIAL TIMES