Chapter 7 chapter Five

Murray Hill Plaza - Opus Dei's new world headquarters and conference center at 243 Lexington Avenue in New York City.Costing more than $47 million, the 133,000-square-foot tower is made of red brick and Indiana limestone and designed by May & Pinska.There are more than 100 bedrooms in the building, six dining rooms, a library, a living room, a meeting room and offices.The second, eighth and sixteenth floors have chapels decorated with wood ornaments and marble.The seventeenth floor is all residential buildings.Men enter through the main entrance on Lexington Avenue, women enter through the side entrance on a side street.In this building, men and women are always separated, neither seeing nor hearing each other.

Earlier in the evening, in his luxurious top-floor guest room, Bishop Manuel Aringarosa had packed a small travel bag and donned his traditional black robe.Normally he would wear a purple sash around his waist, but tonight he was traveling with the general public and he didn't want to draw attention to his high position.Only the sharp-eyed will notice his 14-carat bishop's gold ring.The ring is set with amethysts, large diamonds and a handcrafted bishop's crown and bishop's staff applique.He threw his travel bag back, prayed silently, left the apartment and went downstairs.His driver was waiting for him in the lobby to take him to the airport.

At the moment Aringarosa is sitting on a commercial airliner bound for Rome.He stared out the window at the dark Atlantic.The sun has set, but Aringarosa's own star is rising.The battle will be won tonight, he thought.He still shudders at the thought of months ago when he was helpless against those who threatened to destroy his empire.As Opus Dei's president, Bishop Aringarosa has spent a decade spreading the word about "God's good works" -- the instructions Opus Dei is to follow.Founded in 1928 by Spanish priest José Maria Escriva, the sect advocates a return to conservative Roman Catholic values, encouraging believers to make great sacrifices in order to do "good works of God."The philosophy of the traditionalists in Opus Dei took root in Spain before the Franco dynasty.But in 1934, with the publication of Josemaría Escriva's sacred book "The Way" - a book of 999 points of meditation on the "good works of God" that one lives in one's life - Escriva Watt's ideas suddenly became popular all over the world.Now, with a circulation of four million copies of The Way in forty-two languages, Opus Dei is a global force.It has built residential buildings, teaching centers, and even universities, all over the world's major cities.Opus Dei is the fastest growing and most economically secure Roman Catholic organization in the world.Unfortunately, Aringarosa learned, Opus Dei's burgeoning wealth and influence has become a source of suspicion in an age of religious cynicism, cults, and radio and television evangelists.

Reporters often ask sharply: "Many people call Opus Dei a cult organization that brainwashes people. Some people call you an ultra-conservative Christian secret society. Which one are you?" The Episcopal Church patiently replied: "Opus Dei is not one of those things, we are Roman Catholic. We are Roman Catholics and we place a high priority on the observance of Catholic teaching in our daily lives." "Does 'God's good deeds' have to include swearing to one's chastity, some kind of tax and self-flagellation, and things like atonement with penance?"

"What you describe is just a small number of people in Opus Dei," Aringarosa said. "There can be many levels of involvement. Thousands of Opus Dei members are married, have children, and are active in their communities. Doing the good works of God. Some people voluntarily choose to live in our seminary as ascetics. These are personal wishes, but each member has as their goal to do 'good works of God' and make this world a better place. It's certainly an admirable pursuit." However, these explanations are unhelpful.The media always likes to focus on scandals.And, like any large organization, there are always a few lost souls within Opus Dei who cast a shadow over the group.

Two months ago, it was discovered that a gang of Opus Dei members at a Midwestern university were giving new recruits a hallucinogen called phlegmine to induce a euphoric state.New converts may view this state as a religious experience.Another college student nearly died of an infection when he used a penance belt with back spikes for much longer than the recommended two hours a day.Not long ago, in Boston, a disillusioned young investment banker signed his life savings to Opus Dei before attempting suicide. Lost lamb, Aringarosa thought so.He sympathized with them. Of course, the most embarrassing thing for them was a widely circulated trial incident.On trial was Robert Hassan, an FBI agent who was not only a well-known Opus Dei figure but also a psychopath.Evidence uncovered during the trial suggested he also installed video cameras in his bedroom so his friends could watch him having sex with his wife. "A devout Catholic can hardly be happy," the judge said.

Unfortunately, these events led to the creation of a new watch group called Opus Dei Network.The group has been posting horrific stories from former Opus Dei members on its popular website.The ex-members also warned people not to join Opus Dei.Now, the media calls Opus Dei "God's mafia" or "Christ's cult." We're always terrified of what we don't understand, Aringarosa thinks.He wondered if those critics understood how many lives Opus Dei had enriched.Opus Dei is fully endorsed and granted by the Vatican.Opus Dei is a personal diocese of the Pope. Recently, Opus Dei has found itself threatened by a force far greater than the media.Aringarosa couldn't even hide from the sudden enemy.Although this unstable force was shattered five months ago, Aringarosa still feels the lingering fear. "They don't know they started a war," Aringarosa murmured as he looked out the window at the dark Atlantic.Suddenly, his eyes stopped on his own ugly face reflected in the plane window—it was black and slanted, with a big flat and crooked nose.It was punched when he was a missionary in Spain when he was young.This physical defect basically doesn't matter now.Because the world of Aringarosa is the world of the mind, not the world of the body.

As the plane flew over the coast of Portugal, Aringarosa's cell phone vibrated silently in his chaplain's vest.Although the airline prohibits the use of cellphones during flights, Aringarosa knew he had to take the call.Only one person had the number, and that was the person who mailed Aringarosa the phone.The bishop was excited and replied softly, "Hello?" "Silas already knows where the keystone is. In Paris. In St. Sulpice," said the caller. Bishop Aringarosa smiled and said, "We're close." "We can get it right away. But we need your influence."

"No problem. Tell me, what do you want me to do?" After turning off the phone, Aringarosa's heart was still pounding.He stared again into the emptiness of the night, feeling very small compared to what he was about to do. Five hundred miles away, the albino named Senas was standing in front of a small basin of water.He gently wiped the blood off his back, watching the way the blood swirled in the water.He quoted a sentence from the "Old Testament Psalms" and prayed: Please cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.Silas felt a surge of anticipation that had never been aroused before.It shocked and thrilled him.For the past decade, he's been doing what The Road demands, to cleanse himself of his sins, rebuild his life...and erase the violence of his past.However, tonight, it all came back suddenly.The hate he had suppressed so hard was recalled.He was shocked to see the past resurface so quickly.Of course, his kung fu came back with the past.Although a little "rusty", it still works.

Jesus preached peace... nonviolence... love.From the beginning, Silas had been taught this, and took it to heart.But this is a discipline which the enemies of Christ threaten to destroy.He who threatens God with force will be met with force, and with determination.For two millennia, the defenders of Christianity have defended their faith against beliefs that sought to replace it.Tonight, Silas has enlisted to fight. After drying his wounds, he put on his ankle-length, hooded robe.His skin and hair were whiter against the plain-weave robe of black wool.He fastened the robe belt around his waist, put the hood on his head, and only showed his eyes to admire himself in the mirror.The wheels have turned.