Jan 29 Wed
May a member of Opus Dei participate in any association or political group?
Ten rules from Saint Josemaría.
In Opus Dei there is room for people of any political option, even the extreme left, but “as long as they defend the values of the Gospel.”
Mariano Fazio, Auxiliary Vicar of Opus Dei, summarizes the thought of the founder of the Work for those who participate in public life.
1. Avoid a “double life,” private and public.
Avoid “lack of coherence between what one believes and what one lives,” which leads to “inconsistencies between natural morality or Christian doctrine and some actions in the social life of Catholics.” Some hardly want to hear of their civic duties.”
2. “Do not remain passive” in the face of secularism, which persecutes the Church, relegating her out of the public life and, preventing her from intervening in education, in culture, and in family life.”
3. Fidelity to the doctrine, and respect for the person.
“We must not confuse intransigence with intemperance, and conciliation with giving up rights or truths that cannot be cheapened...We cannot place error on the same plane as truth, but we must welcome those who are in error with great compassion.”
4. Friendly concession or “yielding in what is open to opinion.” It means “living in continual conversation with our companions, our friends, with all souls who come close to us.”
5. Dealing with those who oppose the Church.
We must “bring our companions closer to what we consider the truth,” even those who hate Jesus Christ. “Those give us great pity, so we must treat them with affection, help them to find faith, drown evil in an abundance of good.”
6. The best service is to give doctrine.
“A great part of the troubles in the world are due to ignorance of Christian principles.
7. “Do not abandon politics in the hands of the enemies of the Church,” leaving political tasks in the hands of those who do not know or do not practice the law of God, or oppose His Holy Church.”
8. Advice for government: Aim at the common good.
“Know how to distribute responsibilities, surround yourselves with learned and morally upright persons and not with mediocre ones, and make decisions by listening to colleagues.
9. Do not comply with laws that are so only in name.
St. Josemaría invites us to “respect valid laws that are in accord with the natural law” and that “recognize and protect the dignity of the human person,” but not to comply with fake laws that are valid in name only.
10. Social justice in the face of atheistic Marxism.
The Christian “cannot remain indifferent in the face of social injustice. If the spiritual life is authentic, it must lead to closeness to those suffering. Otherwise, one would fall into a subjectivist religiosity.”
“If by left we mean welfare for the poor, to satisfy the right to live with a minimum of comfort, to work, to be well cared for if they get sick, to have children and be able to educate them, then I am more to the left than anyone else. Naturally, within the social doctrine of the Church and without compromises with Marxism, atheistic materialism, or anti-Christian class struggle, because in these things we cannot compromise.”
Video: