Another Motu Proprio: Francis Downgrades Opus Dei
He decrees that the Opus Dei is put under the Congregation for the Clergy, not under the Congregation for Bishops. This measure treats the group like any other clerical community, although the Opus Dei is a lay organisation, and not - as they would have wished - as a diocese.
Even more important, Francis doesn't want the superior of the Opus Dei to be a bishop. The punitive measure is presented with the sarcastic comment: “For the protection of the peculiar gift of the Spirit, a form of government based more on charism than on hierarchical authority is needed."
The superior of Opus Dei may not use the episcopal insignia, but is given the title of Apostolic Protonotary and is addressed as Reverend Monsignor.
Opus Dei was founded 1928 by a northern Spaniard as the Jesuits to be a revival of them. It had two bishops, Álvaro del Portillo (1982-1994) and Javier Echevarría Rodríguez (1994-2016). The current Prelate Fernando Ocáriz Braña appointed in 2017 was never made bishop by Francis.
Picture: Fernando Ocáriz Braña © wikicommons, CC BY-SA, #newsTbnydhuwoy
