OPUS DEI
Its a mysterious and enigmatic movement- its inner workings closely guarded. Some liken it to a Catholic freemasons, detractors rather unkindly call it gods mafia. But for all its secrecy, the Opus Dei organisation does exist, and it declares a worldwide membership of eighty five thousand. Its aim- to change society from the very top, seeking to recruit opinion makers to push a conservative agenda. Correspondent Mark Corcoran travelled to the heart of this secretive global movement this cult perhaps - to investigate its growing wealth and influence.
00:00 - Crowd outside Vatican
Music
00:11 - Pope in Popemobile
Campbell: Pope John Paul II is engaged in a race against time. His days on this earth are clearly numbered, but his resolve to revitalise the Catholic Church is unyielding. The Pontiff believes that nothing fires the faithful like the making of saints.
00:31 - Music
00:34 - Pope at canonisation ceremon
Corcoran: Hes created more than any other Pope in history, and this, his 464th canonisation or saint-making ceremony is arguably the most controversial.
In front of 300,000 people a Spanish priest linked to the Fascist regime of General Franco is elevated in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Pope: The Church escribes, in the Book of Saints, the blessed Jose Maria Escriva, priest and founder of Opus Dei.
Music
01:14
Corcoran: Since his death in 1975, Jose Maria Escriva has been fast-tracked to sainthood in record time by a pope who long admired his anti-communist, ultra-conservative brand of Christianity.
01:30
Opus Dei means Gods work in Latin. Critics claim it translates as Catholic fundamentalism.
01:39
These members of an unashamedly elitist movement aim to influence and change society from the very top taking their message into the workplace as politicians, lawyers businessmen and journalists.
01:53 - Father Javier
Father Javier: The message from our founder and the message from Opus Dei is the same - everybody can be a saint - must be a saint by sanctifying everyday life.
Music
02:12 - Canonisation ceremony
Corcoran: Opus Dei has managed to polarise opinion like few other institutions in the modern Catholic Church. To supporters, its all about achieving sanctity of the human spirit and perhaps more importantly of supporting this Popes highly conservative social agenda. To detractors though, Opus Dei is seen as a highly disciplined, highly secretive sect far more interested in amassing power and influence here at the Vatican.
Music
02:48 - Pyrenees
Music
03:03 - Shrine of Torreciudad
Corcoran: In the shadow of the Pyrenees lies the very heart of the Opus Dei Movement - the Shrine of Torreciudad. Its an extraordinary monument to the memory of Jose Maria Escriva, who was born and raised in a nearby town. Built on the medieval fault line between Christianity and Islam.
03:28 - Father Javier in church
Father Javier de Mora-Figueroa, Rector of Torreciudad, is typical of Opus Deis leadership. From one of Spains elite families, hes a former Navy Officer and lay Opus Dei member who entered the priesthood aged 40.
03:47
As Father Javier assumes his priestly mantle, he is flanked by Opus Dei numeraries, who form the inner core of the movement.
Organ music
04:06 - Father Javier enters church
Corcoran: They may wear the suits of laymen, but numeraries are very much Opus Deis guiding force. They seek careers in the professions and take vows of chastity and poverty. Theirs is an evangelical mission, with a rigid social agenda - preaching against abortion, contraception, IVF programs and homosexuality.
04:32 - Father Javier
Father Javier: The battles to fight - or to struggle - or to fight - with the church is in the all around the world, eh? In the economics, in the media, in the universities.
04:53 - Opus Dei members carry statue
Corcoran: Opus Dei has 85,000 members worldwide two thirds in Spain and Latin America and many more supporters who often make the long pilgrimage to Torreciadad, where Jose Marias statue looms larger than any representation of Christ.
05:12 - Jose Marias statue/Father Javier
Father Javier: He has a very big heart, hes very compassionate. He has also a strong will - strong temperament - but for me - to say in a few words - he teach me to love.
05:36
Archival of Jose Maria Corcoran: But others have less saintly personal memories of Jose Maria. Through the 1950s and 60s Escrivas vision was realised by a trusted inner circle of senior numeraries. But after 15 years service, one of these disciples fell out with the father. Alberto Moncada moved on to become one of Spains leading sociologists and an implacable foe of the movement.
06:06
Moncada Moncada: They think the figure of Escriva is larger than the figure of Jesus Christ - in practical behaviour of Opus Dei people which is normal because they need such an agenda, to have a person who is above everything, which is why when they make a saint, they give an argument to be fanatical.
06:30 - Archival of Jose Maria
Corcoran: Combining personal charisma with his evangelical mission, Jose Maria established a network of schools and universities around the world. A ready-made talent pool, from which the best and brightest are targeted for recruitment.
Girl: When patience runs out, and you have started over many times, then what?
06:52
Escriva: Patience, my daughter. Patience.
Corcoran: But behind the happy façade, disillusioned recruits accuse Opus Dei of operating as a mind-controlling force, obsessed with secrecy, ordering followers to conceal their membership from the community.
07:08 - Corcoran and Moncada
Alberto Moncada says the claims are true part of the strategy he used when sent to Peru in the 1960s to establish an Opus Dei University.
07:19
Moncada Moncada: They recruit very young people, in a closed environment. As soon as they do, they prohibit to go the movies, to visit the other gender, they try to be secret in the family Dont tell your father that you are an Opus Dei member -- things like that. They take away the money, they send them to places where they start higher education, and from that time they are like slaves.
07:49 - Father Javier
Father Javier: I think the matter is they mistake secrecy with privacy, because of the most of Opus Dei people are laymen, and people working in their jobs and they dont like to put a label on a jacket telling I want to be a saint!
Torreciadad shrine
Father Javier: This medallion was always in the old chapel, hanging from the Virgins.
08:30
Corcoran: On a pilgrimage to Torreciadad a group of students from a Spanish Opus Dei University learn of the life and legacy of Jose Maria.
08:43
Father Javier: So what we have on the panels is a selection of photos of his life.
Corcoran: They already know most of the technocrats responsible for Spains economic miracle of the 1960s were disciples of Escriva as are many prominent bankers, politicians and journalists in Spain today.
Archival Spanish Civil War
Music
09:06
Corcoran: But the telling of Opus Days early history is far more selective. Founded by Escriva in 1928, the fledgling movement was lucky to survive the Spanish Civil War, when communists shot thousands of priests. Under the subsequent four decade reign of fascist dictator General Franco, Opus Dei thrived and rapidly expanded.
09:33
Escriva once said: To be in the military is half way to becoming an Opus Dei member. Detractors claim he had close personal links to the Franco regime, an alliance that should disqualify him from sainthood.
09:52 - Father Javier with Corcoran
Its a slander on the memory of the founder, says the Rector, who speaks with some personal knowledge - his own father was an admiral in Francos Navy.
10:02 - Father Javier
Father Javier: They met I know they met and I think that our founder thought that Franco was a good Christian, but perhaps he never ever speak about politics.
Music
10:25 - Man practising self-flagellation
Corcoran: But there are a few other skeletons thrashing about in the Opus Dei closet.
Music
Corcoran: Every Easter, Catholic Spain bears witness to this ritual parade of self-flagellation to emulate Christs suffering and purge sinful thoughts.
10:45
While these spectacles are largely symbolic, Opus Dei takes a more literal approach - encouraging members to engage in such practises in private along with the wearing of spiked thigh belts designed to pierce the flesh.
11:04 - Father Javier
Corcoran: The issue of Opus Dei members engaging in flagellation - mortifications of the flesh the. Father Javier: Yes, (nervous laugh) yes, yes, it is true - it is true - but it is not so tragic eh? - Not so tragic. Mortification of the flesh is tradition in the Church from the 1st centuries - to now - No?
11:24
Moncada Corcoran: Was it expected of Opus Dei members to self flagellate? To engage in mortification? Moncada: Yeah yeah, on Saturdays, on Saturdays. It was terrible- eh?
11:37 - Father Javier
Corcoran: Is it something that you do? Do you engage in that practise? Father Javier: Yes, yes of course - and its no shame. I dont like to speak about that because of my privacy - Im shy in this term. But I cant deny - I live the mortification of the flesh. It is necessary to reach the holiness.
12:00 - Father Javier at pulpit
Corcoran: Its a rare public admission linking such practises to the movements core goal of achieving sanctity in everyday life. But mortification of the flesh isnt the only ritual that mortifies some other Catholics.
12:17 - Moncada
Moncada: For the woman - they dont sleep in beds - the woman - they sleep on wood - because Escriva say that women are sexual than men (laughs). A funny extrapolation He was an expert on psychology of sex.
Corcoran: So women sleep on planks?
Moncada: On planks, yeah.
Corcoran: Again, what is the logic of that?
Moncada: No logic - I mean to cure - that is why they have many problems, many psychiatric problems, mental problems in Opus Dei. I know more than three people who were put into sanatoriums, there was even a psychiatrist in Spain who was a specialist in Opus Dei members.
13:06 - Interior of church
Corcoran: Alberto Moncada accuses Opus Dei of hypocrisy, of inflicting an impossibly austere lifestyle on the rank and file, while for the leadership, apparently, anything goes.
13:22 - Moncada
Moncada: When you are important, you are an important person, you are entitled to almost everything. When I was in Peru and I was tired of talking to Opus Dei about impossible things they wanted me to do as a rector, I went to a nice hotel in Lima had a good time with a lady - no problem - I just came back, confessed, and everything was okay (laughs).
Vineyards in Alemendralejo - Music
13:56
Corcoran: Sanctity through work may be the motto of the Opus Dei elite, but theres nothing spiritual about the tough physical grind of the grape harvest here in the southern Spanish town of Alemendralejo.
14:13 - Dr. Nevado in church
These hardy country folk seem somewhat perplexed by the revelation that God has moved among them - but for every doubter there is a true believer.
14:30
These are the hands that have made Jose Maria a saint. They belong to a retired country doctor -- Manuel Nevado Rey who says the years of operating primitive X-ray equipment without shielding had left him with inoperable cancerous ulcers on his hands.
14:52 - Dr. Nevado
Dr. Nevado: And the truth is that I prayed to Jose Maria. I prayed to him with a lot of devotion and after 15 days I was surprised because those ulcers had practically disappeared.
15:09 - Statue of Christ
Corcoran: Under Vatican rules, candidates for sainthood need two scientifically inexplicable medical miracles. The first came from a Spanish nun, whose acute fatty deposits miraculously disappeared after she prayed to the spirit of Jose Maria. Dr. Nevados hands provided the second official miracle, and a few raised eyebrows among locals.
15:36 - Dr. Nevado
Corcoran: What do you say to the sceptics, I mean to the people who simply dont believe? Dr. Nevado: I will tell them that despite being in the 21st Century miracles really do happen and that God is amongst us.
Music
15:58 - Congregation for the Causes of Saints files
Corcoran: Jose Marias fast-track to sainthood led here to the Vaticans Congregation for the Causes of Saints - the saint-making department. History weighs heavily on these shelves, where a lifetime of suffering and sacrifice in Gods name awaits official scrutiny.
16:20 - Cardinal
Cardinal: Here there are some very ancient documents. In effect, it deals with the entire history of the congregation of saints since its foundation in 1588.
Music
16:41 - Cardinal Martins
Corcoran: The congregation is run by Portuguese Cardinal Jose Martins attempting to steer a precarious path between forensic medial examination and the theological needs of the church. He denies reports that Escriva received special favours, and that his case triggered an unholy row within the congregation itself.
17:02
Martins Cardinal: The process for Escriva was the same as we followed for all the other cases. Corcoran: In fact two members of this 30 member panel actually resigned in protest over the Canonisation of Escriva?
Cardinal: I am not convinced of that. Im not aware of any such problems.
17:28
Vatican Corcoran: But a seasoned Vatican watcher questions the Churchs public veneer of unity. BBC Vatican correspondent, David Willey, says Escrivas canonisation has debased a process that was already losing currency.
17:43
Willey Willey: This new passion for putting saints onto the fast track for sainthood, seems to me to be a policy which could be reversed in years to come, when people realise that todays saint may be regarded as tomorrows sinner.
18:00 - Rome Headquarters of Opus Dei
Corcoran: In the lead up to the canonisation Opus Dei faithful gather at the movements Rome headquarters, to pray at the coffin holding Jose Marias mortal remains. Theres no need for a collection plate here. This is an immensely wealthy movement whose exact finances remain a closely guarded secret. According to one unchallenged estimate, Opus Dei investments generate the equivalent of $175 million U.S. dollars a year.
18:31
Willey Willey: They dont publish any accounts they have a lot of money. I would suggest its pretty obvious their close contacts with the world of high finance, particularly in Europe and the United States, have given them access to very considerable funds.
18:46 - Interior of church
Corcoran: The movement dispenses cash to non Opus Dei bishops around the world. In return it expects loyalty in Rome. In an historic first Pope John Paul created a personal prelature for the movement, giving these numeraries and priests the right to operate anywhere in the world outside the control of local bishops. Its a source of enormous power for the organisation and great resentment within the Vatican but no one dares publicly attack the Popes favourites
19:21
Willey Willey: There seems to have been a sort of conspiracy of silence on the part of the Church not to say anything which is going to knock Opus Dei. People may have been aware that some of their methods were not acceptable to Catholics worldwide, but they dont want to get involved in controversy about this.
Canonisation ceremony - Music
19:48
Corcoran: These days a canonisation appears equal parts religious event and media spectacle. John Paul II has harnessed the information age with spectacular success, taking his message to the global congregation of one billion Catholics. His chief image-maker is the Papal press officer, Joaquin Navarro-Valls a former Spanish bullfighter, doctor and journalist, who is first and foremost an Opus Dei numerary.
20:22
Willey Willey: This is a very powerful position. Mr. Navarro-Valls, the head of the press office, has lunch several times a week with the Pope, he has complete access to the Holy Father, and hes privy, I'm sure, to many decisions that are made inside the Vatican, at a very, very high level.
20:44 - Canonisation ceremony
Corcoran: The presence of such a massive crowd at the canonisation sent a clear message to the Churchs cardinals of the very real power as well as the glory - of Opus Dei.
Music
20:57
Willey Willey: I wouldnt go so far as to say they would like an Opus Dei Pope next time round, but certainly they want to ensure that this position of advantage they have enjoyed during this Papacy can be repeated during the next one.
21:11
Moncada Moncada: The whole thing is legitimisation of image, nothing more. We have a saint! Thats it.
Corcoran: Well they have succeeded?
Moncada: Yeah they have succeeded. Yes I think they now have the tools for their business.
Painting of Escriva/ Canonisation ceremony - Music
21:25
Corcoran: With the elevation of Jose Maria Escriva to sainthood Opus Dei comes of age, and an ailing pontiff ensures that after he ascends to heaven Gods Work will continue here on earth.
FX: Church bells
21:47 - OPUS DEI
Reporter: Mark Corcoran
Camera: Geoffrey Lye
Editor: Simon Brynjolffssen
Producer: Jonathan Harley
Its a mysterious and enigmatic movement- its inner workings closely guarded. Some liken it to a Catholic freemasons, detractors rather unkindly call it gods mafia. But for all its secrecy, the Opus Dei organisation does exist, and it declares a worldwide membership of eighty five thousand. Its aim- to change society from the very top, seeking to recruit opinion makers to push a conservative agenda. Correspondent Mark Corcoran travelled to the heart of this secretive global movement this cult perhaps - to investigate its growing wealth and influence.
00:00 - Crowd outside Vatican
Music
00:11 - Pope in Popemobile
Campbell: Pope John Paul II is engaged in a race against time. His days on this earth are clearly numbered, but his resolve to revitalise the Catholic Church is unyielding. The Pontiff believes that nothing fires the faithful like the making of saints.
00:31 - Music
00:34 - Pope at canonisation ceremon
Corcoran: Hes created more than any other Pope in history, and this, his 464th canonisation or saint-making ceremony is arguably the most controversial.
In front of 300,000 people a Spanish priest linked to the Fascist regime of General Franco is elevated in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Pope: The Church escribes, in the Book of Saints, the blessed Jose Maria Escriva, priest and founder of Opus Dei.
Music
01:14
Corcoran: Since his death in 1975, Jose Maria Escriva has been fast-tracked to sainthood in record time by a pope who long admired his anti-communist, ultra-conservative brand of Christianity.
01:30
Opus Dei means Gods work in Latin. Critics claim it translates as Catholic fundamentalism.
01:39
These members of an unashamedly elitist movement aim to influence and change society from the very top taking their message into the workplace as politicians, lawyers businessmen and journalists.
01:53 - Father Javier
Father Javier: The message from our founder and the message from Opus Dei is the same - everybody can be a saint - must be a saint by sanctifying everyday life.
Music
02:12 - Canonisation ceremony
Corcoran: Opus Dei has managed to polarise opinion like few other institutions in the modern Catholic Church. To supporters, its all about achieving sanctity of the human spirit and perhaps more importantly of supporting this Popes highly conservative social agenda. To detractors though, Opus Dei is seen as a highly disciplined, highly secretive sect far more interested in amassing power and influence here at the Vatican.
Music
02:48 - Pyrenees
Music
03:03 - Shrine of Torreciudad
Corcoran: In the shadow of the Pyrenees lies the very heart of the Opus Dei Movement - the Shrine of Torreciudad. Its an extraordinary monument to the memory of Jose Maria Escriva, who was born and raised in a nearby town. Built on the medieval fault line between Christianity and Islam.
03:28 - Father Javier in church
Father Javier de Mora-Figueroa, Rector of Torreciudad, is typical of Opus Deis leadership. From one of Spains elite families, hes a former Navy Officer and lay Opus Dei member who entered the priesthood aged 40.
03:47
As Father Javier assumes his priestly mantle, he is flanked by Opus Dei numeraries, who form the inner core of the movement.
Organ music
04:06 - Father Javier enters church
Corcoran: They may wear the suits of laymen, but numeraries are very much Opus Deis guiding force. They seek careers in the professions and take vows of chastity and poverty. Theirs is an evangelical mission, with a rigid social agenda - preaching against abortion, contraception, IVF programs and homosexuality.
04:32 - Father Javier
Father Javier: The battles to fight - or to struggle - or to fight - with the church is in the all around the world, eh? In the economics, in the media, in the universities.
04:53 - Opus Dei members carry statue
Corcoran: Opus Dei has 85,000 members worldwide two thirds in Spain and Latin America and many more supporters who often make the long pilgrimage to Torreciadad, where Jose Marias statue looms larger than any representation of Christ.
05:12 - Jose Marias statue/Father Javier
Father Javier: He has a very big heart, hes very compassionate. He has also a strong will - strong temperament - but for me - to say in a few words - he teach me to love.
05:36
Archival of Jose Maria Corcoran: But others have less saintly personal memories of Jose Maria. Through the 1950s and 60s Escrivas vision was realised by a trusted inner circle of senior numeraries. But after 15 years service, one of these disciples fell out with the father. Alberto Moncada moved on to become one of Spains leading sociologists and an implacable foe of the movement.
06:06
Moncada Moncada: They think the figure of Escriva is larger than the figure of Jesus Christ - in practical behaviour of Opus Dei people which is normal because they need such an agenda, to have a person who is above everything, which is why when they make a saint, they give an argument to be fanatical.
06:30 - Archival of Jose Maria
Corcoran: Combining personal charisma with his evangelical mission, Jose Maria established a network of schools and universities around the world. A ready-made talent pool, from which the best and brightest are targeted for recruitment.
Girl: When patience runs out, and you have started over many times, then what?
06:52
Escriva: Patience, my daughter. Patience.
Corcoran: But behind the happy façade, disillusioned recruits accuse Opus Dei of operating as a mind-controlling force, obsessed with secrecy, ordering followers to conceal their membership from the community.
07:08 - Corcoran and Moncada
Alberto Moncada says the claims are true part of the strategy he used when sent to Peru in the 1960s to establish an Opus Dei University.
07:19
Moncada Moncada: They recruit very young people, in a closed environment. As soon as they do, they prohibit to go the movies, to visit the other gender, they try to be secret in the family Dont tell your father that you are an Opus Dei member -- things like that. They take away the money, they send them to places where they start higher education, and from that time they are like slaves.
07:49 - Father Javier
Father Javier: I think the matter is they mistake secrecy with privacy, because of the most of Opus Dei people are laymen, and people working in their jobs and they dont like to put a label on a jacket telling I want to be a saint!
Torreciadad shrine
Father Javier: This medallion was always in the old chapel, hanging from the Virgins.
08:30
Corcoran: On a pilgrimage to Torreciadad a group of students from a Spanish Opus Dei University learn of the life and legacy of Jose Maria.
08:43
Father Javier: So what we have on the panels is a selection of photos of his life.
Corcoran: They already know most of the technocrats responsible for Spains economic miracle of the 1960s were disciples of Escriva as are many prominent bankers, politicians and journalists in Spain today.
Archival Spanish Civil War
Music
09:06
Corcoran: But the telling of Opus Days early history is far more selective. Founded by Escriva in 1928, the fledgling movement was lucky to survive the Spanish Civil War, when communists shot thousands of priests. Under the subsequent four decade reign of fascist dictator General Franco, Opus Dei thrived and rapidly expanded.
09:33
Escriva once said: To be in the military is half way to becoming an Opus Dei member. Detractors claim he had close personal links to the Franco regime, an alliance that should disqualify him from sainthood.
09:52 - Father Javier with Corcoran
Its a slander on the memory of the founder, says the Rector, who speaks with some personal knowledge - his own father was an admiral in Francos Navy.
10:02 - Father Javier
Father Javier: They met I know they met and I think that our founder thought that Franco was a good Christian, but perhaps he never ever speak about politics.
Music
10:25 - Man practising self-flagellation
Corcoran: But there are a few other skeletons thrashing about in the Opus Dei closet.
Music
Corcoran: Every Easter, Catholic Spain bears witness to this ritual parade of self-flagellation to emulate Christs suffering and purge sinful thoughts.
10:45
While these spectacles are largely symbolic, Opus Dei takes a more literal approach - encouraging members to engage in such practises in private along with the wearing of spiked thigh belts designed to pierce the flesh.
11:04 - Father Javier
Corcoran: The issue of Opus Dei members engaging in flagellation - mortifications of the flesh the. Father Javier: Yes, (nervous laugh) yes, yes, it is true - it is true - but it is not so tragic eh? - Not so tragic. Mortification of the flesh is tradition in the Church from the 1st centuries - to now - No?
11:24
Moncada Corcoran: Was it expected of Opus Dei members to self flagellate? To engage in mortification? Moncada: Yeah yeah, on Saturdays, on Saturdays. It was terrible- eh?
11:37 - Father Javier
Corcoran: Is it something that you do? Do you engage in that practise? Father Javier: Yes, yes of course - and its no shame. I dont like to speak about that because of my privacy - Im shy in this term. But I cant deny - I live the mortification of the flesh. It is necessary to reach the holiness.
12:00 - Father Javier at pulpit
Corcoran: Its a rare public admission linking such practises to the movements core goal of achieving sanctity in everyday life. But mortification of the flesh isnt the only ritual that mortifies some other Catholics.
12:17 - Moncada
Moncada: For the woman - they dont sleep in beds - the woman - they sleep on wood - because Escriva say that women are sexual than men (laughs). A funny extrapolation He was an expert on psychology of sex.
Corcoran: So women sleep on planks?
Moncada: On planks, yeah.
Corcoran: Again, what is the logic of that?
Moncada: No logic - I mean to cure - that is why they have many problems, many psychiatric problems, mental problems in Opus Dei. I know more than three people who were put into sanatoriums, there was even a psychiatrist in Spain who was a specialist in Opus Dei members.
13:06 - Interior of church
Corcoran: Alberto Moncada accuses Opus Dei of hypocrisy, of inflicting an impossibly austere lifestyle on the rank and file, while for the leadership, apparently, anything goes.
13:22 - Moncada
Moncada: When you are important, you are an important person, you are entitled to almost everything. When I was in Peru and I was tired of talking to Opus Dei about impossible things they wanted me to do as a rector, I went to a nice hotel in Lima had a good time with a lady - no problem - I just came back, confessed, and everything was okay (laughs).
Vineyards in Alemendralejo - Music
13:56
Corcoran: Sanctity through work may be the motto of the Opus Dei elite, but theres nothing spiritual about the tough physical grind of the grape harvest here in the southern Spanish town of Alemendralejo.
14:13 - Dr. Nevado in church
These hardy country folk seem somewhat perplexed by the revelation that God has moved among them - but for every doubter there is a true believer.
14:30
These are the hands that have made Jose Maria a saint. They belong to a retired country doctor -- Manuel Nevado Rey who says the years of operating primitive X-ray equipment without shielding had left him with inoperable cancerous ulcers on his hands.
14:52 - Dr. Nevado
Dr. Nevado: And the truth is that I prayed to Jose Maria. I prayed to him with a lot of devotion and after 15 days I was surprised because those ulcers had practically disappeared.
15:09 - Statue of Christ
Corcoran: Under Vatican rules, candidates for sainthood need two scientifically inexplicable medical miracles. The first came from a Spanish nun, whose acute fatty deposits miraculously disappeared after she prayed to the spirit of Jose Maria. Dr. Nevados hands provided the second official miracle, and a few raised eyebrows among locals.
15:36 - Dr. Nevado
Corcoran: What do you say to the sceptics, I mean to the people who simply dont believe? Dr. Nevado: I will tell them that despite being in the 21st Century miracles really do happen and that God is amongst us.
Music
15:58 - Congregation for the Causes of Saints files
Corcoran: Jose Marias fast-track to sainthood led here to the Vaticans Congregation for the Causes of Saints - the saint-making department. History weighs heavily on these shelves, where a lifetime of suffering and sacrifice in Gods name awaits official scrutiny.
16:20 - Cardinal
Cardinal: Here there are some very ancient documents. In effect, it deals with the entire history of the congregation of saints since its foundation in 1588.
Music
16:41 - Cardinal Martins
Corcoran: The congregation is run by Portuguese Cardinal Jose Martins attempting to steer a precarious path between forensic medial examination and the theological needs of the church. He denies reports that Escriva received special favours, and that his case triggered an unholy row within the congregation itself.
17:02
Martins Cardinal: The process for Escriva was the same as we followed for all the other cases. Corcoran: In fact two members of this 30 member panel actually resigned in protest over the Canonisation of Escriva?
Cardinal: I am not convinced of that. Im not aware of any such problems.
17:28
Vatican Corcoran: But a seasoned Vatican watcher questions the Churchs public veneer of unity. BBC Vatican correspondent, David Willey, says Escrivas canonisation has debased a process that was already losing currency.
17:43
Willey Willey: This new passion for putting saints onto the fast track for sainthood, seems to me to be a policy which could be reversed in years to come, when people realise that todays saint may be regarded as tomorrows sinner.
18:00 - Rome Headquarters of Opus Dei
Corcoran: In the lead up to the canonisation Opus Dei faithful gather at the movements Rome headquarters, to pray at the coffin holding Jose Marias mortal remains. Theres no need for a collection plate here. This is an immensely wealthy movement whose exact finances remain a closely guarded secret. According to one unchallenged estimate, Opus Dei investments generate the equivalent of $175 million U.S. dollars a year.
18:31
Willey Willey: They dont publish any accounts they have a lot of money. I would suggest its pretty obvious their close contacts with the world of high finance, particularly in Europe and the United States, have given them access to very considerable funds.
18:46 - Interior of church
Corcoran: The movement dispenses cash to non Opus Dei bishops around the world. In return it expects loyalty in Rome. In an historic first Pope John Paul created a personal prelature for the movement, giving these numeraries and priests the right to operate anywhere in the world outside the control of local bishops. Its a source of enormous power for the organisation and great resentment within the Vatican but no one dares publicly attack the Popes favourites
19:21
Willey Willey: There seems to have been a sort of conspiracy of silence on the part of the Church not to say anything which is going to knock Opus Dei. People may have been aware that some of their methods were not acceptable to Catholics worldwide, but they dont want to get involved in controversy about this.
Canonisation ceremony - Music
19:48
Corcoran: These days a canonisation appears equal parts religious event and media spectacle. John Paul II has harnessed the information age with spectacular success, taking his message to the global congregation of one billion Catholics. His chief image-maker is the Papal press officer, Joaquin Navarro-Valls a former Spanish bullfighter, doctor and journalist, who is first and foremost an Opus Dei numerary.
20:22
Willey Willey: This is a very powerful position. Mr. Navarro-Valls, the head of the press office, has lunch several times a week with the Pope, he has complete access to the Holy Father, and hes privy, I'm sure, to many decisions that are made inside the Vatican, at a very, very high level.
20:44 - Canonisation ceremony
Corcoran: The presence of such a massive crowd at the canonisation sent a clear message to the Churchs cardinals of the very real power as well as the glory - of Opus Dei.
Music
20:57
Willey Willey: I wouldnt go so far as to say they would like an Opus Dei Pope next time round, but certainly they want to ensure that this position of advantage they have enjoyed during this Papacy can be repeated during the next one.
21:11
Moncada Moncada: The whole thing is legitimisation of image, nothing more. We have a saint! Thats it.
Corcoran: Well they have succeeded?
Moncada: Yeah they have succeeded. Yes I think they now have the tools for their business.
Painting of Escriva/ Canonisation ceremony - Music
21:25
Corcoran: With the elevation of Jose Maria Escriva to sainthood Opus Dei comes of age, and an ailing pontiff ensures that after he ascends to heaven Gods Work will continue here on earth.
FX: Church bells
21:47 - OPUS DEI
Reporter: Mark Corcoran
Camera: Geoffrey Lye
Editor: Simon Brynjolffssen
Producer: Jonathan Harley