In my late quiessence, I omitted mentioning
the excellent work that Bishop Finn, who is affiliated with Opus Dei, has done.
The National Catholic Reporter is after him, and that, as far as I am concerned, is a sure indication that he is in the right, and that his reforms are salutary. He has all the right enemies.
Here is an open topic that has been on the back burner with me, simmering at the edge of thought. One of Bishop Finn's first acts was generous treatment for the Latin Mass community in his diocese. And the priest who is responsible for the late conversikons of Senator Brownback, Judge Bork, and Robert Novak is also affiliated with Opus Dei. Judge Bork has always been close to Justice Scalia, who is a regular at the Latin Mass.
Now, though most Opus Dei members are very traditional Catholics, people who make a daily holy hour, pray the Rosary, and undertake other devotions and mortifications, I don't think Opus Dei takes a position on the traditional Latin Mass. The confluence between Latin Mass attendance and Opus Dei has never, I think, been discussed.
Officially, Opus Dei is in line with whatever the local bishop does regarding the Latin Mass. But I would not be surprised if there isn't a high degree of fellow-feeling between these two groups on the Right of the Church.
Might traditionalists within the Church and in Communion with the Holy Father(meaning indult-goers) benefit by closer relations with Opus Dei? Might our ranks not swell by more openess to Opus Dei members, most of whom, I bet, are too young to have experienced the Latin Mass, and would be deeply moved by the beauty of this worship, as long as it is licit in the eyes of the local bishop.
Might Opus Dei be the lever we need to get more freedom of worship out of local bishops and out of Rome? Remember, Father Georg Ganschwein, the Holy Father's personal secretary, who has his ear constantly, taught at Opus Dei's college in Rome.
Worth further follow-up through informal networking between Ecclesia Dei leaders and Opus Dei? I think so. And even down at our level in the pews, if you know an Opus Dei member, and are blessed with an indult Mass near you, invite him or her to Mass with you. It couldn't hurt.
