by VALEN IRICIBAR
For decades, the shadowy Roman Catholic organization Opus Dei has recruited poor, rural girls in Argentina on the promise of education and a better life. Instead, they have ended up working for years with no pay and found themselves unable to retire when they age — even when they suffer serious health problems.
Over the years, several of them have filed legal complaints — but none have prospered. Then, in September 2024, Argentine federal prosecutors handed down a bombshell indictment accusing high-ranking members of the Roman Catholic organization Opus Dei of human trafficking and slave labor. It is the first time an organization within the Catholic Church has faced accusations of this magnitude.
Although there are 44 cases cited in the investigation, only four are included in the human trafficking indictment because most occurred before Argentina’s human trafficking law went into force in May 2008. Due to statutory limitations, three may soon be out of time.
The Herald spoke to Paula Bistagnino (pictured), an investigative journalist and author whose work was cited in the judicial proceedings, about the inner workings of the highly insular and influential institution. Bistagnino went into the details of the Opus Dei, how the charges came about, and the importance of the indictment.
For many international readers, the words “Opus Dei” might be reminiscent of a Dan Brown novel or conspiracy fodder. Could you explain what the Opus Dei is?
It’s the Catholic church’s only prelature [ecclesiastical jurisdiction] that’s allowed to function autonomously. It has a pretty secretive operation with very rigorous practices imposed on its lay members, who are called “numeraries.” These include self-flagellation, vows of chastity and poverty, and obedience. They have super strict everyday rules, including “mortifications” and sacrifices with intense spiritual control. It operates within a hierarchy that practically doesn’t allow members to make decisions for themselves.
When you hear about it, it sounds anachronistic, out of our time, right? But it’s being upheld, it’s outlined in their internal statutes. Even Opus Dei members in Spain have denounced that those statutes are different from those they present to the Catholic Church. It’s not exactly two-faced but there’s at least a hidden face to the organization, clearly. Dan Brown is literature, fiction, but there are elements that are true.
What exactly has the Argentine judiciary presented against the Opus Dei?
This is a judicial case that stemmed from an individual criminal complaint from a lawyer who read media coverage of the Opus Dei. He filed a complaint with the state anti-trafficking agency, PROTEX. Through the women involved and multiple witnesses, PROTEX can depict a system of recruitment, capture, and exploitation. In the end, there are 44 cases of women who were subjected to this between the 1980s and 2015. The complaint was filed in the federal judiciary, which continued the investigation alongside Procuraduría.
Based on that, we get the accusation against Opus Dei’s maximum authorities of human trafficking and labor exploitation over the past 40 years. Most of the Opus Dei consists of laypeople, but its upper echelons are religious: five priests who led the organization over the years stand accused. Four were regional vicars, the maximum authority of the region (in this case, Rio de la Plata), and one was in charge of the feminine branch.
What we have now isn’t just a complaint, it’s an indictment based on the investigation. The prosecutor’s office handed it over to Federal Judge Daniel Rafecas, who’s asking for a few additional measures before summoning these religious authorities to testify and explain how this system works.
Buenos Aires Herald for more