The trailers of the film I have seen have made it clear that it will portray Opus Dei, the Personal Prelature of the Catholic Church to which I belong, as a shadowy cult, an evil force. I would like, therefore, to equip those in the business community who have no close personal contact with the apostolic activities of Opus Dei with the necessary antidote. Since anything I say may be construed as self-serving, let me turn to a very objective assessment of Opus Dei by the CNN correspondent on Vatican Affairs, John Allen. Mr. Allen, who does not belong to Opus Dei and whose wife is a Jew, has written a book: "Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church," so far published in English, Portuguese, and Korean.

In an interview with the Zenit News Agency, Marc Carroggio, who oversees Opus Dei’s relationship with international journalists in Rome, described the objective quality of the book: "Allen spent hundreds of hours gathering a great deal of information and views from all sorts of people. He places all this information in its proper context, and so gives the rationale for many ways of doing things.

"He has listened to both sides and been respectful to both. Finally, he leaves the readers to reach their own conclusions. These are desirable qualities for a book of this kind. The issues it deals with do not easily lend themselves to dialogue or dispassionate discussion.

"Hence, any attempt to clear away false stereotypes is positive. I do not like comparisons, but I should point out that the author of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ never visited a center of Opus Dei and, as far as I know, never spoke to any members. The picture of Opus Dei presented in the novel is a figment of his imagination.

"I think that John Allen’s work can help readers of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ who have no first-hand knowledge of Opus Dei to understand that we are neither angels nor demons. We are human beings with flesh and blood, who are sometimes wrong and sometimes right, who have faults but also want enthusiastically to follow an ideal."

According to Carroggio, Allen was able to penetrate into the so-called "secrets" of Opus Dei because he had access to documents that are not available to the general public: "I think that the author has understood Opus Dei well: The nature of its message, the reasons for the things it encourages people to do, its members’ mode of life, our ideals and also where we fall short.

"The book is a journalist’s report, not a dissertation in theology or a treatise on the history of the Church. Its approach is sociological, although it also acknowledges and respects the spiritual dimension of things.

"Allen himself says that he does not intend to give an exhaustive account of Opus Dei but rather to compare myths with reality. As a consequence, he devotes a lot of space to matters that are actually fairly secondary in the life of Opus Dei but which have received a lot of attention from the media, especially in the United States.

"So, for example, one could say a lot more about the spiritual experience of belonging to Opus Dei and about the inner motivation that leads persons to choose this path in their search for holiness in the middle of the world.

"This would entail a larger treatment of each person’s awareness of his or her own Christian vocation as well as persons’ desire to follow Jesus Christ in their work, in their family and in their daily life. For an institution in the Church, the personal and existential dimensions are more important than organizational charts or questions of image."

It is possible that one or two of the readers of this column may be among the exceptional few who have had a negative experience with Opus Dei. Carroggio states plainly the attitude taken by the faithful of the Prelature: "It is different, however, when we are dealing with a person who has had a negative experience. You cannot simply deny a wound, or pain, or bad memories. This is not just an issue of lies and truth.

"When we encounter a person’s negative experience, we have to show our respect for it, we have to share that pain, even though at times we do not share that person’s interpretation of the events.

"The fact is that the faithful of Opus Dei live out their dedication to God with full freedom, and their dedication helps them to find happiness, at least the relative happiness that can be had in this world.

"Hence the great majority of those who come to centers of Opus Dei have a life-long appreciation for the Work. But this is not always the case. And so it does not seem wrong, but rather just the opposite, that a book like Allen’s would include these cases, which I consider to be exceptions.

"When Allen asked the prelate about this matter, Bishop [Javier] Echevarria said that we ask pardon with all our heart of those persons who do not feel that they were well treated. As you can understand, I have nothing to add to that."

For those who want to listen to both sides of the controversial issues involving Opus Dei, the book by John Allen is highly recommended. Copies of it are available in branches of Fully Booked and Totus Bookstore (call Henry Sy, 723-4326). For comments, my e-mail is bvillegas@uap.edu.ph.