description: Much has been written about Opus Dei, which under the pontificate of Pope John Paul II has become the most powerful organization in the Roman Catholic Church. Described as a "Holy Mafia" by its critics, "The Work", as it is known, is said to have all the characteristics of a sect: excessive secretiveness, questionable recruitment practices, a shocking disregard for human rights, and an unwholesome cult of its founder.No one until now has described the inner workings of Opus Dei, from its goals and methods to the actual day to day activities of its members, with as much thoroughness and detailed knowledge as Maria del Carmen Tapia. A Numerary (full member) of Opus Dei for almost twenty years (1948-1966), she spent five years in close proximity to the founder Monsignor Escriva de Balaguer, whose beatification in 1992 raised a storm of protest for the haste and irregularity of its procedures. The author describes her recruitment, her forced estrangement from her family, her life in the "Golden Cage" of Opus Dei's governing center in Rome, her years as head of the women's section in Venezuela, her sudden reassignment to Rome, her life there as incommunicada for several months, and finally her total disillusionment and the reprisals over her attempts to leave.This is the story of a religiously motivated young woman who was manipulated, turned into a fanatic, and only gradually came to her senses.
language: English
title: Beyond the Threshold: A Life in Opus Dei
titlecomplete: Beyond the Threshold: A Life in Opus Dei
genres: Religion
ratings_count: 24
publisher: Chiron Pubns