I’ve gotten a number of queries about the fevered discussion about Opus Dei’s murderous history and sinister influence in the Church related by filmmaker Roland Joffé in the press conference I reported on a couple of weeks ago.
Exactly how did the conversation go? For your shock and amusement, here’s the full exchange as Joffé related it. The discussion begins with Joffé mentioning that he’s making a film about Opus Dei.
Friend: Oh my God, that’s a Fascist organization! I mean, they slaughtered hundreds of people!
Joffé: They have? Really? How do you know that?
F: Well, even if they haven’t, they’re extremely influential in the Church. I mean, they basically control the Church.
J: How would they control the Church?
F: They control the cardinals and the pope.
J: They hypnotize them? How do they do it?
F: They do it through the cardinals.
J: How many cardinals are in Opus Dei?
F: Hundreds.
J: Well, how many cardinals are there [in the world]?
F: I don’t know, but lots and lots of them are definitely in Opus Dei.
J: Well, I think there may be one or two, or maybe in three.
F: Well, that’s what I’m saying—that’s the way it works. It’s all kept secret.
J: Well, okay. Anything else?
F: Bishops. Lots and lots of bishops. How do you account for all these bishops in Opus Dei?
J: How many bishops are in Opus Dei?
F: Well, I don’t know—thousands of bishops …
Apparently it went downhill from there.
I don’t think any further commentary is needed, do you? As Pat Archbold put it recently, we hold certain untruths to be self-evident.