OPUS

Investigation of a failed Spanish bank reveals unsavory ties to a secretive religious organization determined to “take back control” of a world tainted by secularism.

The 2017 collapse of the Banco Popular took the world—and financial journalist Gore—by surprise. The many shareholder interviews he conducted after moving to Madrid eventually led him to one of two brothers who had served as bank chairmen. From Javier Valls-Taberne, Gore learned that Opus Dei, an influential conservative Catholic sect, had controlled his older brother and dismissed Javier while bilking Banco Popular of millions, which the sect used to promote itself and its “works” around the globe. Gore’s investigations revealed that beneath the mask of extreme ascetic piety Opus Dei presented—to individuals, communities, and even John Paul II, the pope who elevated the group to a personal prelature—were power-hungry men who worked to create schools and other organizations all over the world meant to “educate” rising generations in extreme religious conservatism. Digging deeper, Gore learned that Opus Dei had ties to American conservative elites that had funded the Jan. 6, 2021, “March to Save America” through “dark money vehicles” and helped bring down Roe v. Wade. Other unethical practices included recruiting young girls from poor countries, then using religion to force them into serving without pay all-male Opus Dei elites. Moving with the suspenseful twists and turns of a political thriller, this well-documented book reveals the hidden agendas and intrigue that belie institutional structures in a post-truth world.

Unsettling, informative reading.