Did anyone asked Alito about Opus Dei?

[Patiod]

Will Pitt's post about fascism got me wondering whether anyone knows whether Judge Alito is a lay member or supporter of Opus Dei? He is exactly the profile of the person they tend to go after (I believe that like the CIA, they tend to seek you out to join, as opposed to the opposite) In spite of their protestations to the contrary, I have trouble believing that their American members are not largely fascist in their leanings.

(This is not a "D'Vinci Code" thing -- that portrayal was silly and melodramatic.)

I have personal experience with relatives who are members, and it concerns me, because I don't think an Opus Dei member would be comfortable with any ruling which contradicted the most conservative take on Church teaching. These are people who are deeply uncomfortable with the liberality of Vatican II. I'd have just as big a problem if the Court had a majority of Orthodox Jews, or deeply committed Mormons or professed Fundamentalist Protestants, but I don't have such a deep understanding of their beliefs and doctrines as I do with those in the Church in which I grew up.

(Note to those unfamiliar with Opus Dei - the wikipedia entry seems to have been written by Opus Dei members themselves. Click here for a less enthusiastic view.

/I'm not a regular on GD, so forgive me if this has been hashed out already.

[Surya Gayatri]

1. Even if it could be proved

that he was a card-carrying member, he'd just give his standard pre-fab answer: "I've wracked my brains, but I can't recall if or why I joined!" SG

[xultar]

2. Is the less enthusiatic view more objective or just less peppy for the

cause.

[stop the bleeding]

3. I missed Will's post on Opus Dei, but this ties into some of the research

I have been doing in regards to Michael Ledeen, Niger Forgeries, Plamegate, Gladio, P2, Vatican, Israel, I would be interested to see what Will's take is on Fascism and wanting to keep anyone down that does not employ the ultra-right view points.

[Patiod]

8. No post on Opus Dei -- but a post on fascism

Opus Dei came to MY mind because there are many people who accuse the founder, St. Josemaría Escrivá, of being fascist. And the Opus Dei members I know are very strongly pro-corporation, pro-authority and patriarchal.

[Binka]

4. Scalia & Thomas Are Members I Bet Alito Is Too

They are all Federalists as well. I contend that Opus Dei is the KKK/Fascist in 500 thread count sheets.

[On the Road]

5. Clarence Thomas is a Catholic?

I didn't know that.

[LibertyLover]

7. A convert

He converted to Roman Catholicism a few years ago. I have a vague memory that Scalia was one of his sponsor (in adult conversions you have sponsors rather than godparents).

[Broke In Jersey]

10. Thomas is a very devout Catholic & goes to daily mass in DC

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. If anyone had asked...

The screaming and whining about "anti-Catholic bias" would still be drowning out all sound. Even if Catholic Kennedy had done the asking.

[DanCa]

9. I am more concerned with the rcia

there the ones who thru a fit when i wouldn't tape women enter abortion clinics with a digi camera. And when I refused pressured my old church into not confiming me.

[itcfish]

11. I Did Send An

e-mail to Sen. Kennedy and Sen. Clinton to ask about Alito and Opus Dei

[Bridget Burke]

12. Where has the political influence of Opus Dei manifested in the US?

This article from "America, the National Catholic Weekly" is not without criticism. Some of the treatment of "numeraries"--celibates who live in Opus Dei centers--is a bit cultlike. But most Opus Dei practices deal with personal spirituality. "Supernumeraries" are married people, contributing as they can but mostly living "regular" lives. According to the article, Opus Dei has no quarrel with Vatican II.

www.americamagazine.org/articles/martin-opusdei.cfm

Yes, they are Catholic. The use Latin & have some practices that mainstream America would find weird. Even before I was an Agnostic/Atheist, membership would NOT have appealed to me.

But where is absolute PROOF that certain powerful people are members & that Opus Dei beliefs are guiding their political actions? You don't need to be a member to follow conservative interpretations of Catholic doctrine. Quite a few members of the Bush regime have demonstrated an affection for fascism--with no possible links to Opus Dei. Bob Novak converted to Catholicism in 1998. If he IS a member, he joined quite recently. But he'd already been a Douchebag for many years.

[Patiod]

13. Thank you Bridget for bringing some balance to the discussion

That's why I linked to the wikipedia article first - I think it presents a very positive view of Opus Dei - much like the one I got from my cousin, who was (and may still be) a supernumerary. These things are rarely black or white.

I admit I may be over-reacting. I was thinking of an elderly great-aunt who was a Sacred Heart nun, and I remember her saying that one of the missions of the Sacred Heart nuns was to minister to the powerful and the children of the powerful, and thereby multiply their influence (Sacred Heart nuns aren't exactly right wing monsters). Opus Dei seems (based on anti-Opus Dei materials I've read) to have similar goals -- to place its members in positions of power where they can influence policy so that it is in line with Catholic teaching.

I am very uncomfortable with the authoritarian aspects of the Catholic Church, and uncomfortable with there being too many conservative Catholics on the Supreme Court. The Opus Dei thing just seems to be one more level up in devotion to the notion that Authority is Always Right -- Alito's fondest supporters note that he has never once ruled against an Institution or Authority figure.