A disturbing indictment of the methods and ethos of Opus Dei, from a devout Catholic who spent 18 years in the organization and worked at its highest levels. Opus Dei, a worldwide Roman Catholic society for professional lay men and women, founded in Franco's Spain by Fr. JosÇ Mar°a Escriv† de Balaguer (who died in 1994), now boasts over 70,000 members and has the high regard of Pope John Paul II. Controversy has surrounded ``The Work'' (Opus Dei means ``the work of God'') from its earliest days. Its penchant for secrecy and repeated allegations of cultlike manipulation have led many priests and bishops to be wary of the organization. Tapia's account will do much to increase these misgivings. She tells how in 1948, when working at the prestigious Council for Scientific Research in Madrid, she was persuaded to separate from her family, break off her engagement to her fiancÇ, and enter Opus Dei's inner circle of celibate ``numeraries.'' For five years, she worked closely with Escriv† in Rome and then spent almost ten years as head of the Women's Section in Venezuela. She fell from favor for questioning some of Escriv†'s directives and adopting a more open attitude. In a suspenseful final section she describes being called back to Rome, where she was held incommunicado and forced to endure attempts to break her of her ``bad spirit.'' After her final expulsion, Opus Dei tried to obliterate any evidence of her presence in the organization. Tapia describes members' uncritical adulation of the autocratic Escriv†, the fierce psychological pressure to recruit new members, and the complex system of informers within the organization. She also notes the toll these elements take on members, including nervous breakdowns and suicides. Her account is all the more compelling in view of Opus Dei's current attempts to force Escriv†'s canonization. Avoiding facile sensationalism, Tapia's relentlessly detailed chronicle shows how idealism can lead to the repression of basic human rights.
Pub Date: July 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-8264-0937-7
Page Count: 388
Publisher: Continuum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1997
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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