http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1379801,00.htmlCatholic 'secret society' gains power foothold Opus Dei plays down fears over link to Education Secretary
Jamie Doward
Sunday December 26, 2004
The Observer
A couple of years ago not many people in Britain had heard of Opus Dei. Its cloistered anonymity was such that even many committed Christians were unaware the ultra-conservative Roman Catholic movement existed.
And then came The Da Vinci Code. The frantic plot of Dan Brown's blockbuster novel centres on a ruthless Opus Dei member who commits murder to protect the secrets of the Holy Grail. The book served to reinforce enduring conspiracy theories that the movement is a shadowy, powerful elite with tentacles stretching up to the highest echelons of society.
And then came the cabinet minister, Ruth Kelly. The new Education Secretary has close links with the society, leading to a wave of headlines heavy with the whiff of conspiracy, a woman with 'secret links' she has so far refused to talk about.
In the first public comments from the organisation since Kelly's appointment earlier this month, Andrew Soane, Opus Dei's communications officer, says she is not a full member.
'She is "in touch". She has attended meetings,' Soane confirmed. Secular groups have reacted with alarm to the news, arguing that someone with such conservative Catholic views on the family, abortion and contraception should not be in charge of education policy.
Organisations such as the National Secular Society worry that Opus Dei members are taught that their work must encapsulate their faith at all times. Soane says such fears are overplayed, although he admits that members are encouraged not to separate their faith from their careers.
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And the circle keeps on turnin ...