Opus Dei: Leadership and Vision in Today's Catholic Church

Messori, who collaborated with Pope John Paul II on Crossing the Threshold of Hope, is a sympathetic mouthpiece for one of the most controversial organizations in post-Vatican II Catholicism. Opus Dei is a lay organization within the Catholic church. According to Opus Dei's own statements, its members ""carry out their apostolic work through the practice of their ordinary professional work."" Messori simply interviews representatives of Opus Dei and records their descriptions of the organization. William A. Schmitt, Opus Dei's director of communications, even contributes an introduction to the book. While Opus Dei has been criticized by former members (e.g., Maria del Carmen Tapia in Beyond the Threshold, Continuum) for its secretiveness, its moral authoritarianism and its emphasis on the laity's ability to interpret church doctrine and scripture for themselves, Messori does not take into account such criticisms. By letting the organization speak for itself, Messori has produced a rather lifeless, unremarkable and uninsightful account of a controversial religious organization. (Nov.)