List of points

You have occasionally referred to Opus Dei as 'organised unorganisation'. What exactly do you mean by this?

I mean that in our apostolate we give primary and fundamental importance to the spontaneity of the individual, to free and responsible initiative guided by the action of the Spirit, and not to organisational structures and tactics imposed from above, from the seat of government.

There is obviously a minimum of organisation, with a central government, which always acts collegially and has its seat in Rome, and regional governments which are also collegiate, each headed by a Counsellor. But all the activity of these organisms is directed fundamentally to one task: to provide the members with the spiritual assistance necessary for their life of piety, and an adequate spiritual, doctrinal, religious and human formation. And then, off you go! That is to say, Christians, sanctify all the paths of men, for all bear the imprint of the footsteps of God.

Having reached this point, the Association as such has done its job, the job precisely for which the members of Opus Dei have come together. The Association has nothing else to do. It neither can, nor should it, give any further indications. Here begins the free and responsible, personal action of each member. Each one does his apostolate on his own initiative, working with complete personal freedom. Autonomously forming his own conscience before the concrete decisions he has to take, he endeavours to seek Christian perfection and to give Christian witness in his own environment, sanctifying his own work. whether it be professional, intellectual or manual. Naturally, as each one makes decisions autonomously in his secular life, in the temporal realities in which he moves, there will often be different options, criteria and ways of acting. We have, in a word, that blessed 'unorganisation', that just and necessary pluralism, which is an essential characteristic of good spirit in Opus Dei, and which has always seemed to me the only just and orderly way to conceive the apostolate of the laity.

I will add that this 'organised unorganisation' appears even in the corporate works of apostolate which Opus Dei directs as an association, with the desire of contributing to resolve in a Christian way the problems which affect the community of each country. These activities and initiatives of the Association are always of a directly apostolic nature. They are educational or social welfare activities. But it is precisely our spirit to see that these initiatives should not come from above. And since the circumstances, needs and possibilities of each nation or social group are unique, the central government of the Work leaves to the regional governments practically total autonomy. It is their responsibility to decide, foster and organise the concrete apostolic activities which they consider most appropriate, a university centre, a residence for students, a welfare centre or an agricultural college for farm workers. The logical result is that we have a multicoloured and varied mosaic of activities, a mosaic which is 'organisedly unorganised'.

Could you give a brief picture of the world wide structure of Opus Dei and of its relations with the General Council in Rome over which you preside?

The General Council is independent for each section — the men's and the women's — and resides in Rome. A corresponding organisation exists in each country, presided over by the Counsellor of Opus Dei in that nation.

But do not imagine a powerful organisation, spread out like a vast network to the farthest corners of the world. Rather, imagine an 'unorganised organisation' in which the principal work of the Directors is to see to it that all the members receive the genuine spirit of the Gospels (a spirit of charity, of harmony, of understanding, all of which are absolutely foreign to extremism) by means of a solid and appropriate theological and apostolic formation. Beyond this, each member acts with complete personal freedom. He forms his conscience autonomously. And he tries to seek Christian perfection and to Christianise his environment, by sanctifying his own work, whether it be intellectual or manual, in all the circumstances of his life and in his own home.

Furthermore, direction in the Work is always collegial. We detest tyranny, especially in the exclusively spiritual government of Opus Dei. We love pluralism. The contrary would lead to ineffectiveness, to neither getting things done nor letting other people do them, to never improving.

How is Opus Dei organised in Spain? How is its leadership constituted and how does it operate? Do you, personally, intervene in the activities of Opus Dei in Spain?

The government of Opus Dei is never in the hands of one individual. Decisions are never made by a single person. We detest tyranny as being opposed to human dignity. In each country the direction of our apostolic activities is entrusted to a commission composed in its majority of laymen of different professions and presided over by the Counsellor of Opus Dei in the country. The Counsellor in Spain is Dr Florencio Sanchez Bella.

Since Opus Dei is a supernatural, spiritual organisation, its government is limited to directing and orientating its apostolic activities to the exclusion of any temporal aim whatsoever. The Work not only respects its members' freedom: it helps them to become fully aware of it. To achieve holiness in their profession or job, the members of Opus Dei need to be formed in such a way that they can administer their freedom in the presence of God, with sincere piety and with doctrine. This is the fundamental mission of the directors: to help its members know and practise the Christian Faith so they can make it a reality in their lives, with full individual autonomy.

Naturally in the purely apostolic field a certain degree of coordination is essential, but even there the intervention is limited to the minimum necessary to facilitate the creation of educational and social activities which constitute an effective Christian service.

The principles I have just mentioned are also applicable to the central government of Opus Dei. I do not govern alone. Decisions are taken by the General Council of Opus Dei which is in Rome, made up at present of people from fourteen countries. The General Council limits itself to setting down the basic guidelines for the apostolate of the Work the world over, leaving it to the directors in each country to put them into practice. The Women's Section is governed in the same way. Its Central Council is made up of women from twelve countries.

How is Opus Dei organised?

Since, as I have just said, the vocation to the Work finds a man or a woman in his or her normal life, in the middle of their work, you can understand that Opus Dei is not built on the basis of committees, assemblies, meetings, etc. On occasion, to the surprise of some people, I have gone so far as to say that Opus Dei in this sense, is an 'unorganised organisation'. The majority of the members, practically all in fact, live in the same place as they would have lived had they not been members of Opus Dei: in their home, with their family, in the place where they work.

And it 's there precisely that each member of the Work finds the purpose of Opus Dei: to try to be holy, making his life a daily apostolate, which is ordinary, insignificant if you like, but persevering and divinely effective. That's the important thing. And to nourish this life of holiness and apostolate they receive from Opus Dei the spiritual help, advice and orientation they need. But only in the strictly spiritual sphere. In everything else — in their work, in their social relationships, etc. — they act as they wish, knowing that this is not neutral ground but material in which they can be sanctified and which itself can be sanctified and become a means of apostolate.

And so all live their own lives, with the relationships and obligations this entails, and they turn to the Work for spiritual help. This does call for a certain amount of structure, but always a very small amount. Everything is done to limit it to what is strictly indispensable. The Work does organise religious doctrinal formation, which lasts all one's life and leads one to an active, sincere and genuine piety and to an ardour which necessarily encourages constant, contemplative prayer and a personal and responsible apostolic activity, devoid of any kind of fanaticism.

In addition to this all the members know where they can find a priest of the Work with whom they can discuss matters of conscience. Some members, very few in comparison with the total number, live together to attend to the spiritual care of the others, or to conduct some apostolic activity. They form an ordinary home, just like any Christian family, and continue at the same time to work at their profession.

In each country there is a regional government, always collegial in character, headed by a Counsellor; and there is a central government in Rome made up of people of very different nationalities. Opus Dei has two Sections, one for men and one for women, which are absolutely independent, to the extent of forming two distinct associations, united only in the person of the President General.

I hope I have explained what I mean by 'unorganised organisation': we give priority to spirit over organisation and so the life of the members is not strait-jacketed by directives, plans and meetings. Each member goes his own way. What unites him to the others is a shared spirit and a shared desire for holiness and apostolate which accompany him as he strives to sanctify his own everyday life.