Editing Opus Dei (section)

=== Supporting views ===
According to several journalists who have worked independently on Opus Dei, such as [[John L. Allen Jr.]],<ref name="Allen 2005" /> [[Vittorio Messori]],<ref name="Messori 1997" /> [[Patrice de Plunkett]],<ref name="de Plunkett 2007" /> [[Maggy Whitehouse]],<ref name="Whitehouse 2006" /> and [[List of children of clergy|Noam Friedlander]],<ref name="Gledhill 2005" /> many of the criticisms against Opus Dei are myths and unproven tales. Allen, Messori, and Plunkett say that most of these myths were created by its opponents, with Allen adding that he perceives that Opus Dei members generally practice what they preach.<ref>{{cite web |title=Unveiling Opus Dei: Interview with John L. Allen |url=http://oldarchive.godspy.com/reviews/Opus-Dei-An-Interview-with-John-Allen-by-John-Romanowsky.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713161854/http://oldarchive.godspy.com/reviews/Opus-Dei-An-Interview-with-John-Allen-by-John-Romanowsky.cfm |archive-date=13 July 2012 |access-date=23 February 2008 |work=Gospy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Interview with John Allen |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week937/interview1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103061635/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week937/interview1.html |archive-date=3 January 2007 |access-date=27 November 2006 |work=PBS:Religion&Ethics}}</ref>

[[File:Opusdeicentralhqrome.jpg|thumb|right|Opus Dei central headquarters in Rome]]
Allen, Messori, and Plunkett also state that accusations that Opus Dei is secretive are unfounded. These accusations stem from a [[clericalism|clerical paradigm]] which expects Opus Dei members to behave as monks and clerics, traditionally known and externally identifiable as seekers of holiness. In contrast, these journalists continue, Opus Dei's lay members, like any normal Catholic professional, are ultimately responsible for their personal actions and do not externally represent the organization that provides them religious education.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}} Writer and broadcast analyst [[John L. Allen Jr.]] states that Opus Dei provides abundant information about itself. These journalists have noted that the historic roots of criticisms against Opus Dei can be found in influential clerical circles.<ref name="Messori 1997" /><ref>{{cite web |first=Edward |last=Pentin |title=Profiles: John Allen |url=http://www.theamericanmag.com/article.php?show_issue_id=24&show_article_id=320 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016203316/http://theamericanmag.com/article.php?show_issue_id=24&show_article_id=320 |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=27 November 2006 |work=The American}}</ref>

As to its alleged participation in right-wing politics, especially the Francoist regime, British historians [[Paul Preston]] and [[Brian Crozier]] state that the Opus Dei members who were Franco's ministers were appointed for their talent and not for their Opus Dei membership.<ref name="Preston 1993">{{Cite book |first=Paul |last=Preston |title=Franco. A Biography |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1993 |isbn=0-00-215863-9}}</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2020}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Crozier |first=Brian |title=Franco: A Biographical History |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |year=1967}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |quote=[The technocrats] were appointed to high office not because of what they were [i.e. Opus Dei members] but because of what they wanted to do. |first=Jose |last=Casanova |url=http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/publications/the-opus-dei-ethic-the-technocrats-and-the-modernization-of-spain |title=The Opus Dei Ethic, the Technocrats and the Modernization of Spain |date=1 February 1983 |journal=Social Science Information |volume=22 |issue=1 |page=46|doi=10.1177/053901883022001002 }}</ref> Also, there were notable members of Opus Dei who were vocal critics of the Franco regime such as [[Rafael Calvo Serer]] and [[Antonio Fontán]], who was the first [[President of the Spanish Senate|president]] of the [[Senate of Spain|Senate]] in Spain, following the adoption of a democratic [[Constitution of Spain|constitution]]. The German historian and Opus Dei member [[Peter Berglar]] calls any connection made between Opus Dei and Franco's regime a "gross slander".<ref name="Berglar 1994" /> At the end of Franco's regime, Opus Dei members were 50:50 for and against Franco, according to John Allen.<ref name="Allen 2005" />{{page needed|date=September 2020}} Similarly [[Álvaro del Portillo]], the former prelate of Opus Dei, said that any statements that Escrivá supported Hitler were "a patent falsehood" that were part of "a slanderous campaign".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=del Portillo |first1=Álvaro |title=Immersed in God: Blessed Josemaria Escrivá, Founder of Opus Dei As Seen by His Successor, Bishop Álvaro del Portillo |first2=Cesare |last2=Cavalleri |publisher=Scepter |year=1996 |isbn=0-933932-85-5}}</ref> He and others have stated that Escrivá condemned Hitler as a "rogue", a "racist" and a "tyrant".<ref>See {{cite web |last=Urbano |first=Pilar |author-link=Pilar Urbano |year=1995 |title=El hombre de Villa Tevere |url=http://www.pontealdia.net/criticas/nazismo.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210145836/http://www.pontealdia.net/criticas/nazismo.htm |archive-date=10 December 2006 |access-date=28 January 2007}}</ref> Opus Dei spokespersons also deny claims that Opus Dei members worked with General Pinochet.<ref name="Gledhill 2005" /> Various authors and researchers state that Escrivá was staunchly non-political, and detested dictatorships.<ref name="Messori 1997" /><ref>{{cite book |first=Julian |last=Herranz |title=En las afueras de Jericó: recuerdos de los años con san Josemaría y Juan Pablo II |publisher=Rialp |year=2008}}</ref> Allen wrote that, compared with other Catholic organizations, Opus Dei's stress on freedom and personal responsibility is extraordinarily strong.<ref name="Allen 2005" /> There are many Opus Dei members who are identified with center or left-wing politics, including [[Ruth Kelly]], [[Jorge Rossi Chavarría]], [[Mario Fernández Baeza]], [[Mario Maiolo]], and [[Jesus Estanislao]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Swan |first=Michael |date=15 September 2008 |title=Opus Dei welcomes left-wingers, too |url=https://www.catholicregister.org/item/8201-opus-dei-welcomes-left-wingers-too |access-date=19 June 2022 |work=Catholic Register}}</ref>

While Opus Dei spokespersons have admitted mistakes in dealing with some members and do not, as a rule, contest their grievances,<ref name="Newsday 2006" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Silver |first1=Vernon |last2=Smith |first2=Michael |name-list-style=amp |title=The Business of Opus Dei |url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/weekend_news_detail.asp?pp_cat=31&art_id=17588&sid=7680826&con_type=3&d_str=20060429 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215151146/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/weekend_news_detail.asp?pp_cat=31&art_id=17588&sid=7680826&con_type=3&d_str=20060429 |archive-date=15 February 2009 |access-date=2 December 2007 |work=The Standard |location=Hong Kong |publisher=Bloomberg L.P.}}</ref> supporters have rejected generalizations merely based on negative experiences of some members.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schonborn |first=Christoph |title=Are there sects in the Catholic Church? |url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHRIST/ORSECTS.HTM |access-date=27 November 2006 |work=Eternal Word Television Network}}, Matthew 10:37</ref> John Allen concluded that Opus Dei is not "elitist" in the sense in which people often invoke the term, meaning an exclusively white-collar phenomenon. He observed that among its members are barbers, bricklayers, mechanics, and fruit sellers. Most supernumeraries are living ordinary middle-class lives, he said.<ref name="Allen 2005" />{{page needed|date=September 2020}} Regarding alleged [[misogyny]], John Allen states that women hold half of the leadership positions in Opus Dei, and they supervise men.<ref>{{cite news |last=Baird |first=Julia |date=18 May 2006 |title=Tall tale ignites an overdue debate |url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/tall-tale-ignites-an-overdue-debate/2006/05/17/1147545387121.html?page=2 |access-date=4 April 2007 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> As regards the claim that religious people in Spain, including Opus Dei members, were involved in the [[Lost children of Francoism|abduction of children during the Franco era]], an investigation found that DNA analysis of 81 cases ruled out that they were stolen babies.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ansede |first1=Manuel |date=20 October 2018 |title=El análisis del ADN de 81 casos descarta que fueran bebés robados |url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/09/27/ciencia/1538058145_715458.html |newspaper=El País |language=es}}</ref> The supreme court of Spain did not consider the first case of stolen babies to be proven,<ref>{{cite web |title=El Supremo no considera probado el primer caso que analiza de bebés robados |first=Reyes |last=Rincón |date=11 June 2020 |url=https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-06-11/el-supremo-no-considera-probada-la-detencion-ilegal-en-el-primer-caso-juzgado-de-un-bebe-robado.html |language=es}}</ref> and the chief prosecutor of the Basque Country said that "not even reasonable evidence" of any abduction of babies had been found, after special investigations of the police.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chávarri |first1=Inés P. |date=2 December 2012 |title=La burbuja de los bebés robados |url=https://elpais.com/ccaa/2012/12/02/paisvasco/1354473800_513589.html |newspaper=El País |language=es}}</ref>