Editing Josemaría Escrivá (section)

==Teachings and legacy==
[[File:Escrivas plaque.jpg|thumb|Bronze portrait of Escrivá in [[Cahir]], Ireland, commemorating a visit he made in 1959]]
The significance of Escrivá's message and teachings has been a topic of debate, by Catholics and others.  The Protestant French historian [[Pierre Chaunu]], a professor at the Sorbonne and president of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, said that "the work of Escrivá de Balaguer will undoubtedly mark the 21st century. This is a prudent and reasonable wager. Do not pass close to this contemporary without paying him close attention".<ref>''Vue Culturelle'', 5–6 February 1983</ref> The Catholic theologian [[Hans Urs von Balthasar]], who was appointed [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]] by Pope John Paul II (but died in 1988 before his investiture), dismissed Escrivá's principal work, ''The Way'', as "a little Spanish manual for advanced Boy Scouts" and argued that it was quite insufficient to sustain a major religious organization. However, the monk and spiritual writer [[Thomas Merton]] declared that Escrivá's book "will certainly do a great deal of good by its simplicity, which is the true medium for the Gospel message".<ref name="Allen 2005 64" />

Critics of Opus Dei have often argued that the importance and originality of Escrivá's intellectual contributions to theology, history, and law, at least as measured by his published writings, has been grossly exaggerated by his devotees.<ref name="Allen 2005 64" /> However, various officials of the Catholic Church have spoken well of Escrivá's influence and of the relevance of his teachings. In the decree introducing the cause of beatification and canonization of Escrivá, Cardinal [[Ugo Poletti]] wrote in 1981: "For having proclaimed the [[universal call to holiness]] since he founded Opus Dei during 1928, Msgr. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, has been unanimously recognized as the precursor of precisely what constitutes the fundamental nucleus of the Church's magisterium, a message of such fruitfulness in the life of the Church."{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} [[Sebastiano Baggio]], Cardinal Prefect of the [[Congregation for Bishops]], wrote a month after Escrivá's death: "It is evident even today that the life, works, and message of the founder of Opus Dei constitutes a turning point, or more exactly a new original chapter in the history of Christian spirituality." A Vatican ''peritus'' or consultor for the process of beatification said that "he is like a figure from the deepest spiritual sources". [[Franz König]], Archbishop of Vienna, wrote in 1975:

"The magnetic force of Opus Dei probably comes from its profoundly lay spirituality. At the very beginning, in 1928, Msgr. Escrivá anticipated the return to the Patrimony of the Church brought by the Second Vatican Council ... [H]e was able to anticipate the great themes of the Church's pastoral action in the dawn of the third millennium of her history."<ref>''Opus Dei:Leadership and Vision In Today's Catholic Church'' Messori, Vittoria</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/opusdeileadershi00mess|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/opusdeileadershi00mess/page/120 120]|quote=The magnetic force of Opus Dei probably comes.|title=Opus Dei: Leadership and Vision in Today's Catholic Church|first=Vittorio|last=Messori|date=20 November 1997|publisher=Regnery Pub.|access-date=20 November 2017|via=Internet Archive|isbn=9780895264503}}</ref>

The "absolutely central" part of Escrivá's teaching, says American theologian William May, is that "sanctification is possible only because of the grace of God, freely given to his children through his only-begotten Son, and it consists essentially in an intimate, loving union with Jesus, our Redeemer and Savior."<ref>{{Harvnb|Belda, Manuel|1997}}</ref>

Escrivá's books, including ''Furrow'', ''The Way'', ''Christ is Passing By'', and ''The Forge'', continue to be read widely, and emphasize the laity's calling to daily sanctification (a message also to be found in the documents of [[Vatican II]]). Pope John Paul II made the following observation in his homily at the beatification of Escrivá:

{{quote|With supernatural intuition, Blessed Josemaría untiringly preached the universal call to holiness and apostolate. Christ calls everyone to become holy in the realities of everyday life. Hence work too is a means of personal holiness and apostolate, when it is done in union with Jesus Christ.}}

John Paul II's decree ''Christifideles omnes'' states: "By inviting Christians to seek union with God through their daily work&nbsp;— which confers dignity on human beings and is their lot as long as they exist on earth&nbsp;— his message is destined to endure as an inexhaustible source of spiritual light regardless of changing epochs and situations".<ref name="ACF"/>