Rome, 12 apr. Opus Dei opens today in Rome its extraordinary general congress to adapt to its statutes the changes requested by Pope Francis with his document “Ad charisma tuendum”, although the results will not arrive for several months.
In this extraordinary general congress, 126 women and 148 men participate, of whom 90 are priests. And they come from the five continents: Europe (50%), America (36%), Africa (6.6%), Asia (6.2%), and Oceania (1.1%), said Opus Dei in a release.
The works, which will last until Sunday, and the conclusions of these days will be presented later to the Department for the Clergy, the entity of the Holy See with powers over personal prelatures, and later the Vatican will communicate the final modifications to the statutes approved by the pope.
In his letter to the faithful of the Prelature, the Prelate of Opus Dei, Fernando Ocáriz, pointed out that “all General Congresses are very special moments of unity among the entire Work, and of the Work with the Holy Father and with the whole of the Church”.
The modifications that the Pope has requested are in line with other similar ones that Francis also demanded of other Catholic groups such as the Neocatechumenals, such as Communion and Liberation or the community of Sant’Egidio.
These are the first changes since forty years ago, when, under the “Ut sit” Constitution, John Paul II erected the Prelature of Opus Dei, an ecclesiastical institution governed by a prelate with his own jurisdiction, like a diocese, but without being linked to a certain territory.
This new norm establishes that the personal prelatures, and so far the only one existing is that of Opus Dei, will come to depend on the Congregation of the Clergy and no longer on the Congregation of Bishops, as it was until now.
In this way, Opus Dei will not be part of the hierarchical structure of the Church as a diocese as it has been up to now, but will be directly controlled by the ministry of the Clergy, like other organizations.
In addition, Opus Dei will have to present, each year, “to the department for the Clergy a report on the state of the Prelature and on the development of its apostolic work.”
The norm, which will enter into force on August 4, establishes that the prelate may not be a bishop to “strengthen the conviction that a form of government based more on charisma than on hierarchical authority is needed.”
For some analysts, the Pope with this document wanted to “remove power” from Opus Dei, but in an interview with the Spanish newspaper ABC he denied that it was a punishment. “I am a very close friend of Opus Dei, I love them very much and they work well in the Church. The good they do is very great,” he added.
According to the latest data, 93,600 people currently belong to the prelature, of which 60% are women. EFE
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