COW CHIPS

That nasty time of the year is here again.  Between now and the first of the year our computer is programmed to slam into our JUG all readers who have not contributed to our cause since 2003 (5 years).  As most of you know, we run this operation on contributions from y’all except the Religious.  Exempt from such purging, of course, are our major donors.  Heads up, you new readers, please know that we cannot publish this great reading material without your financial help.  We would like about 15 bucks from each of you each year.  Our average contribution is $35 a year.  Thanks in advance.
      A college student challenged a senior citizen, saying it was impossible for their generation to understand his.  "You grew up in a different world," the student said.  "Today we have television, jet planes, space travel, nuclear energy, computers..."
Taking advantage of a pause in the student's litany, the geezer said, "You're right.  We didn't have those things when we were young; so we invented them!   What are you doing for the next generation??"
(I love old people! They do have a lot to offer!!)

Dear Aaron,

Enclosed please find an article from the March 22, 1969 Campionette that you might find interesting. It describes the travails besetting the Campion Student Congress during a meeting that occurred earlier that month: a debt of over $300, the sniping over the appointment of a junior instead of a senior to oversee expenditures, loss of control over committees, internecine feuds among congressional members, and member concerns over "student-administration relations", sparked (no pun intended) by teachers who continued to smoke in Campion Hall. (Kostka Hall had burned on December 14, 1968 and on January 9, 1969, the Campion Student Congress had passed a rule with faculty approval stating that any student caught in Campion Hall smoking, playing with matches, or with a cigarette lighter would be suspended for up to one week, return with his parents to appear before a Student-Faculty court, and be liable to sanctions ranging from a $25 fine to expulsion.)

Doesn't this sound somewhat familiar? I am just waking up this morning to find that the General Assembly of State of New Jersey has finally agreed on this year's (2006) budget at 5:00 am, eight days behind the July 1 deadline. This resulted in the closure of all nonessential state activities, including the Atlantic City casinos, leaving 48,000 state workers out of work for a week, and causing a revenue loss to the State of nearly $60 million.

How interesting it is that Campion's congressional squabble occurred at the same time as the publication of Fr. Theodore Hesburgh's famous letter. Despite it all, Campion students did not (metaphorically, I should add) trade backpacks for bandoliers and rifles when addressing political concerns. The Congress soldiered on and in a May 3, 1969 'Ette article, the SBC president gave a resume of the Congress's activities during the year, attached. Regarding Fr. Hesburgh's letter, there was apparently this follow-up after President Nixon's response in a "Dear Ted" letter written around February 18, 1969 ("Dear Ted, I want to applaud the forthright stand you have taken"). A week and a half afterwards (February 28, 1969), Fr. Hesburgh advised caution: "Even the most far-out students are trying to tell society something that may be worth searching for today."

Best regards, (signed) Paul McCullough ‘70

Congressional Record:
People, Policies, and Problems

Campion's Student Congress is faced with many of the problems that confront Campion as a whole, among these are financial difficulties, feuds among the students, and student-administration conflicts. These difficulties were quite evident at the March 10th meeting of the Congress.

The financial plight of the Congress has steadily worsened, creating a debt over three hundred dollars. To alleviate this problem John Spellman established a Ways and Means committee headed by Brian O'Malley, stating, "his job is to get us or to keep us, solvent." All projects which have the potential to obtain — or to lose — must be cleared through Brian, who seems to have absolute control over such ventures. Such control is likely to be contested soon, probably by the Social Com­mittee, which stands to lose the most if the purse strings are tightened. Whether the Congress can appropriate funds over O'Malley's veto re­mains to be seen. Since his power is from the Central Committee, this could become a crucial issue determining the actual power structure of the Congress.

Student feuds are another of the problems facing the Congress. Whether resulting from personality clashes or policy clashes, these con­flicts weaken the Student Congress, and will make it more ineffectual than it is. What makes the problem look really ridiculous are incidents such as the one between John Spellman and Gerry Nora. John sent Gerry back to the hall for a tie to meet Congress dress rules. Gerry remarked, "John, should we get haircuts too?" before walking out. He didn't return.

Unfortunately, not all the conflicts are as easy to avoid and obvious­ly trite. Len Chojnacki and John Spellman seem always opposed, espec­ially on matters dealing with Len's Social Committee. Len wants ulti­mate control over his committee, even with regard to finance. John must be opposed to this idea if he is to maintain the patchwork unity that the Student Congress now has. Regrettably, John has paved the way for greater friction by putting Brian O'Malley over Len with regard to finances. Such a situation may help to destroy the most functional com­mittee in the Congress.

The problems in student-administration relations were partially revealed when Fr. Hilbert appeared before the Congress. The March 10th meeting saw Dennis Farrell at war with Mr. Thon. The topic was teachers smoking in Campion Hall. Denny and others wished to prose­cute Fr. Aspenleiter and others for smoking outside designated areas — while not knowing what areas those were since the Student Congress had set up one group and the faculty another. Mr. Thon set him right with "Dennis, you don't know the facts." Dan Hespen joined Denny's side while Bob Holland tried to point out that this was a petty argument. Then Denny stated why he wanted Fr, A. before the Congress and also pointed out how deep the rift is: "Because I can't get the facts out of those guys."

A student-student gap might be developing too, John Spellman postponed discussion on Student Life until a meeting Friday at seven. The meeting was called off without notifying everyone.
The problems are there. But hope that those problems can be solved also exists. The Congress is effective, but it can be much more effective if its members are willing to put aside personal interests and grudges to work for the good of the Congress and the school, not themselves.

Dear Alumni and Friends,

My father was a 1921 graduate.  My brother Warner '50 and my cousin Mike, '55 and I fill out the Whalen Campion Club.  I must start with some bad news: my brother, Warner, passed away following a stroke in 1998 just 2 years into retirement and planning to enjoy his life.  My cousin Mike from Darlington, Wisconsin encouraged me to write this letter.  Little did I think that some enterprising young Knights would pour over our addresses and skiff through this material. My hat's off to you.

Captain Daniel P. Whalen was born in Evanston, Illinois on 20 December 1943, the son of Mr. and Mrs. James J. Whalen.  Raised in Chevy Chase, Maryland, he graduated from Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1966.  He enlisted in the Aviation Officer Candidate Program in August 1966.  Participating in the inaugural class of the Naval School of Aeronautical Sciences at Pensacola, Florida, he was designated a Naval Aviator at Corpus Christ, Texas in May, 1968.

Following recruiting duty at Naval Air Facility Andrews, Washington, D.C. he reported to RV A W-120, he was assigned as a "Plank-owner" in Detachment THIRTY-EIGHT.  Serving as the Assistant Operations and Landing Signal Officer, he deployed aboard USS SHANGRI-LA (CV A38) to the Mediterranean in 1969 and to Southeast Asia in 1970.

In May 1971, Captain Whalen was reassigned to Commander, Carrier Airborne Early Warning Wing TWELVE as the Assistant Readiness Officer and Staff Landing Signal Officer and concurrently served as an E-IB instructor at RV A - 120. His efforts during this tour led to Commander Naval Air Force, Atlantic Fleet approval for initial day carrier qualification for first tour E-2 Pilots. He subsequently conducted the first carrier qualification for these aviators.

In January 1974, after completing jet transition training at Attack Squadron FORTY-THREE and flying the A-6E at Attack Squadron FORTY-TWO and the RASC in RV AH-3, Captain Whalen reported to CVW ONE as the Staff Landing Signal Officer and Administrative Officer.  Conducting the first fleet carrier qualification of the S-3A Viking and the inaugural AIRLANT carrier qualification of the F -14A Tomcat on board USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV-67), he deployed with the "Air wingship of the Future" to the Sixth Fleet in 1975-1976.

Captain Whalen transferred to RVAW-II0 at Miramar, California in July 1976. He served as an E-2B flight instructor, Pilot Training Officer, squadron Safety Officer, and Maintenance Officer.  While there he established the requirement for initial night carrier qualification of first E-2B pilots.

Captain Whalen returned in March 1979 to the East Coast to RV A W-120 for E-2C ARPS transition training and subsequently reported to VA W-121 as the squadron Maintenance Officer.

In 1980, embarked on the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN-69), Captain Whalen completed a 251 day deployment, the longest since World War II.  The EISENHOWER was underway for 152 continuous days during one of her two "at sea" periods.  In February 1981, he deployed to Keflavik, Iceland for three months.

In August 1981, Captain Whalen reported to the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island as a student in the College of Naval Warfare. Upon graduation in June 1982, Captain Whalen returned to Commander, Carrier Airborne Early Warning Wing TWELVE as Chief Staff Officer.

Captain Whalen next reported to the SEAHAWKS as Executive Officer and Commanding Officer in May 1983 to October 1984. The SEAHAWKS DISTINGUISHED themselves by winning the Commander Naval Force Atlantic Battle Efficiency "E" and the Chief of Naval Operations AEW Excellence award.

In May 1986, joining Commander, Carrier Group Eight as the staff CIC officer, he completed Northern Wedding and two successful Mediterranean deployments, the second of which he was responsible for the shooting down two Libya MIG's.

Following January 1989 he was transferred to the Pentagon, to be responsible for inauguration for the first George H. W. Bush.  He made significant contributions to the Navy's war fighting capability, the future of naval aviation, and the Naval adoption of Total Quality Leaderships while serving on the OPNA V staff from January 1989 to July 1993.  He served with great effectiveness over that period as Deputy Assistant for Aviation Plans.

Following his retirement from the Navy he went to work for LOGICON where he was a Member of the Technical Staff.  He suffered a stroke in May 1999.  He and his wife, the former Maureen Hanlon of Glen Rock, New Jersey, reside in their current home of Leesburg, Virginia.  Their five children: are James, John, Julie, Laura and Daniel.

That about does it!  PLEASE stop in and stay a spell.  Maureen and I would love to see any of you.

Daniel P. Whalen '61 Captain USN (Ret.)

Extreme Oath of the Jesuits

 "When a Jesuit of the minor rank is to be elevated to command, he is conducted into the Chapel of the Convent of the Order, where there are only three others present, the principal or Superior standing in front of the altar. On either side stands a monk, one of whom holds a banner of yellow and white, which are the Papal colors, and the other a black banner with a dagger and red cross above a skull and crossbones, with the word INRI, and below them the words IUSTUM, NECAR, REGES, IMPIOUS. The meaning of which is: It is just to exterminate or annihilate impious or heretical Kings, Governments, or Rulers. Upon the floor is a red cross at which the postulant or candidate kneels. The Superior hands him a small black crucifix, which he takes in his left hand and presses to his heart, and the Superior at the same time presents to him a dagger, which he grasps by the blade and holds the point against his heart, the Superior still holding it by the hilt, and thus addresses the postulant:"

Superior:
My son, heretofore you have been taught to act the dissembler: among Roman Catholics to be a Roman Catholic, and to be a spy even among your own brethren; to believe no man, to trust no man. Among the Reformers, to be a reformer; among the Huguenots, to be a Huguenot; among the Calvinists, to be a Calvinist; among other Protestants, generally to be a Protestant, and obtaining their confidence, to seek even to preach from their pulpits, and to denounce with all the vehemence in your nature our Holy Religion and the Pope; and even to descend so low as to become a Jew among Jews, that you might be enabled to gather together all information for the benefit of your Order as a faithful soldier of the Pope.

You have been taught to insidiously plant the seeds of jealousy and hatred between communities, provinces, states that were at peace, and incite them to deeds of blood, involving them in war with each other, and to create revolutions and civil wars in countries that were independent and prosperous, cultivating the arts and the sciences and enjoying the blessings of peace. To take sides with the combatants and to act secretly with your brother Jesuit, who might be engaged on the other side, but openly opposed to that with which you might be connected, only that the Church might be the gainer in the end, in the conditions fixed in the treaties for peace and that the end justifies the means.

You have been taught your duty as a spy, to gather all statistics, facts and information in your power from every source; to ingratiate yourself into the confidence of the family circle of Protestants and heretics of every class and character, as well as that of the merchant, the banker, the lawyer, among the schools and universities, in parliaments and legislatures, and the judiciaries and councils of state, and to be all things to all men, for the Pope's sake, whose servants we are unto death.

You have received all your instructions heretofore as a novice, a neophyte, and have served as co-adjurer, confessor and priest, but you have not yet been invested with all that is necessary to command in the Army of Loyola in the service of the Pope. You must serve the proper time as the instrument and executioner as directed by your superiors; for none can command here who has not consecrated his labors with the blood of the heretic; for "without the shedding of blood no man can be saved." Therefore, to fit yourself for your work and make your own salvation sure, you will, in addition to your former oath of obedience to your order and allegiance to the Pope, repeat after me---
“I, ______ now, in the presence of Almighty God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the blessed Michael the Archangel, the blessed St. John the Baptist, the holy Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul and all the saints and sacred hosts of heaven, and to you, my ghostly father, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in the Pontificate of Paul the Third, and continued to the present, do by the womb of the virgin, the matrix of God, and the rod of Jesus Christ, declare and swear, that his holiness the Pope is Christ's Vice-regent and is the true and only head of the Catholic or Universal Church throughout the earth; and that by virtue of the keys of binding and loosing, given to his Holiness by my Savior, Jesus Christ, he hath power to depose heretical kings, princes, states, commonwealths and governments, all being illegal without his sacred confirmation and that they may safely be destroyed. Therefore, to the utmost of my power I shall and will defend this doctrine of his Holiness' right and custom against all usurpers of the heretical or Protestant authority whatever, especially the Lutheran of Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the now pretended authority and churches of England and Scotland, and branches of the same now established in Ireland and on the Continent of America and elsewhere; and all adherents in regard that they be usurped and heretical, opposing the sacred Mother Church of Rome. I do now renounce and disown any allegiance as due to any heretical king, prince or state named Protestants or Liberals, or obedience to any of the laws, magistrates or officers.

I do further declare that the doctrine of the churches of England and Scotland, of the Calvinists, Huguenots and others of the name Protestants or Liberals to be damnable and they themselves damned who will not forsake the same.
I do further declare, that I will help, assist, and advise all or any of his Holiness' agents in any place wherever I shall be, in Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, Ireland or America, or in any other Kingdom or territory I shall come to, and do my uttermost to extirpate the heretical Protestants or Liberals' doctrines and to destroy all their pretended powers, regal or otherwise.

I do further promise and declare, that notwithstanding I am dispensed with, to assume my religion heretical, for the propaganda of the Mother Church's interest, to keep secret and private all her agents' counsels from time to time, as they may entrust me and not to divulge, directly or indirectly, by word, writing or circumstance whatever; but to execute all that shall be proposed, given in charge or discovered unto me, by you, my ghostly father, or any of this sacred covenant.

I do further promise and declare, that I will have no opinion or will of my own, or any mental reservation whatever, even as a corpse or cadaver (perinde ac cadaver), but will unhesitatingly obey each and every command that I may receive from my superiors in the Militia of the Pope and of Jesus Christ.

That I may go to any part of the world withersoever I may be sent, to the frozen regions of the North, the burning sands of the desert of Africa, or the jungles of India, to the centers of civilization of Europe, or to the wild haunts of the barbarous savages of America, without murmuring or repining, and will be submissive in all things whatsoever communicated to me.

I furthermore promise and declare that I will, when opportunity present, make and wage relentless war, secretly or openly, against all heretics, Protestants and Liberals, as I am directed to do, to extirpate and exterminate them from the face of the whole earth; and that I will spare neither age, sex or condition; and that I will hang, waste, boil, flay, strangle and bury alive these infamous heretics, rip up the stomachs and wombs of their women and crush their infants' heads against the walls, in order to annihilate forever their execrable race. That when the same cannot be done openly, I will secretly use the poisoned cup, the strangulating cord, the steel of the poniard or the leaden bullet, regardless of the honor, rank, dignity, or authority of the person or persons, whatever may be their condition in life, either public or private, as I at any time may be directed so to do by any agent of the Pope or Superior of the Brotherhood of the Holy Faith, of the Society of Jesus.

In confirmation of which, I hereby dedicate my life, my soul and all my corporal powers, and with this dagger which I now receive, I will subscribe my name written in my own blood, in testimony thereof; and should I prove false or weaken in my determination, may my brethren and fellow soldiers of the Militia of the Pope cut off my hands and my feet, and my throat from ear to ear, my belly opened and sulfur burned therein, with all the punishment that can be inflicted upon me on earth and my soul be tortured by demons in an eternal hell forever!

All of which, I, _______, do swear by the Blessed Trinity and blessed Sacraments, which I am now to receive, to perform and on my part to keep inviolable; and do call all the heavenly and glorious host of heaven to witness the blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, and witness the same further with my name written and with the point of this dagger dipped in my own blood and sealed in the face of this holy covenant."

(He receives the wafer from the Superior and writes his name with the point of his dagger dipped in his own blood taken from over his heart.)

Superior:
"You will now rise to your feet and I will instruct you in the Catechism necessary to make yourself known to any member of the Society of Jesus belonging to this rank.

In the first place, you, as a Brother Jesuit, will with another mutually make the ordinary sign of the cross as any ordinary Roman Catholic would; then one cross his wrists, the palms of his hands open, and the other in answer crosses his feet, one above the other; the first points with forefinger of the right hand to the center of the palm of the left, the other with the forefinger of the left hand points to the center of the palm of the right; the first then with his right hand makes a circle around his head, touching it; the other then with the forefinger of his left hand touches the left side of his body just below his heart; the first then with his right hand draws it across the throat of the other, and the latter then with a dagger down the stomach and abdomen of the first. The first then says Iustum; and the other answers Necar; the first Reges. The other answers Impious." (The meaning of which has already been explained.) "The first will then present a small piece of paper folded in a peculiar manner, four times, which the other will cut longitudinally and on opening the name Jesu will be found written upon the head and arms of a cross three times. You will then give and receive with him the following questions and answers:

Question -From whither do you come?
Answer - The Holy faith.

Q. -Whom do you serve?
A. -The Holy Father at Rome, the Pope, and the Roman Catholic Church Universal throughout the world.

Q. -Who commands you?
A. -The Successor of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus or the Soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Q. -Who received you?
A. -A venerable man in white hair.

Q. -How?
A. -With a naked dagger, I kneeling upon the cross beneath the banners of the Pope and of our sacred order.

Q. -Did you take an oath?
A. -I did, to destroy heretics and their governments and rulers, and to spare neither age, sex nor condition. To be as a corpse without any opinion or will of my own, but to implicitly obey my Superiors in all things without hesitation of murmuring.

Q. -Will you do that?
A. -I will.

Q. -How do you travel?
A. -In the bark of Peter the fisherman.

Q. -Whither do you travel?
A. -To the four quarters of the globe.

Q. -For what purpose?
A. -To obey the orders of my general and Superiors and execute the will of the Pope and faithfully fulfill the conditions of my oaths.

Q. -Go ye, then, into all the world and take possession of all lands in the name of the Pope. He who will not accept him as the Vicar of Jesus and his Vice-regent on earth, let him be accursed and exterminated."

Pope and Patriarch Teochist
May 8, 1999. — Pope meet with Orthodox Patriarch Teochist in Romania. This Orthodox Patriarch is your typical Jesuit in disguise. . . . While the Vatican is bombing his brothers . . . he is urging unity with Rome!!!
Editor's Notes

President Clinton is a graduate of Jesuit Georgetown University in Wash., D.C. We don't know if he took this oath but he manifests all the characteristics of a well trained Jesuit.

This oath is taken from the book Subterranean Rome by Carlos Didier, translated from the French and published in New York in 1843. Dr. Alberto Rivera escaped from the Jesuit Order in 1967, and he describes his Jesuit oath in exactly the same way as it appears in this book. Semper idem: always the same.

The Jesuit Oath of Induction is also recorded in the Congressional Record of the U.S.A. House Bill 1523, Contested election case of Eugene C. Bonniwell, against Thos. S. Butler, Feb. 15, 1913, pp. 3215-321

1404 W. WISCONSIN AVE.
P.O. Box 1881
Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881         414-288-5000   FAX 414-288-1758
July 2,2007

Dear editor of Campion Forever;
I want to thank you for the obituary on Donald Driscoll, S.J., Campion class of 1952.  I was his classmate.  Eight members of the Campion class of 1952 entered the Jesuits that same year.  I still remember riding with Don on the train from Chicago to St. Louis where we started our novitiate.  Don and I remained good friends for 59 years.  Three of those eight are still alive, Jesuit priests, and working hard in the Lord's vineyard.  Ned Mattimoe is assistant pastor at St, Patrick's Church, 400 Main Street Huntington, NY 11743-3298.  Clement Metzger is director of the Jesuit Retreat House, 5629 State Road, Cleveland, Ohio, 44134-2292.  I am a history professor at Marquette University.  In the last three years I have published three books on the early Jesuits, a short biography of St. Ignatius, a translation from the chronicle of their first 16 years by Loyola’s secretary, and Jesuit Writings of the Early Modern Period, 1540-1640 (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2006) 288 pp., $12.95.

This morning while cleaning a cabinet I ran across Brother Sylvester Staber's ten page "A Short History of Campion High School." It was written in 1979, four years after Campion closed. I will make twenty copies and mail them to the first twenty alumni who request them. Send requests with your USA mailing address to john.p.donnelly@marquette.edu

Get there before the greedy guys do!

In Christ,

John Patrick Donnelly, S.J.

When told the reason for daylight saving time the old Indian said... "Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of a blanket and have a longer blanket."

Two guys were discussing popular family trends on sex, marriage, and values. Stu said, 'I didn't sleep with my wife before we got married, did you?' Leroy replied, 'I'm not sure, what was her maiden name?'

APHORISM: A SHORT, POINTED SENTENCE EXPRESSING A WISE OR CLEVER OBSERVATION OR A GENERAL TRUTH; ADAGE

1. The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.
2. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.
3. If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense at all.
4. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.
5. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.
6. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night.
7. Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.
8. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks?
9. Scratch a cat and you will have a permanent job.
10. No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car.
11. There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.
12. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM. Like this: It could be a right number.
13. No one ever says 'It's only a game.' when their team is winning.
14. I've reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.
15. Be careful reading the fine print. There's no way you're going to like it.
16. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.
17. Do you realize that in about 40 years, we'll have thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos? (And rap music will be the Golden Oldies ! )
18. Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Yugo.
19. After 50, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead!
20. Always be yourself. Because the people that matter, don't mind. And the one's that mind, don't matter

OBITS
Frank Walsh ‘46
Bill Lewis ‘60
John M. Scott, S.J.
James Kramper, S.J. ‘41
Bro. Lee McNamee, S.J. ‘44
Paul Fatum ‘48
Dan Hardin, ‘48

Tammy DiNicola is the founder of ODAN

May 16, 2006 - It's been more than 15 years since Tammy DiNicola left Opus Dei, but she still tries to raise awareness about the secretive and conservative Roman Catholic group.

DiNicola, 37, considers herself a faithful Catholic despite her falling out with Opus Dei, which she joined while she was in college. She stayed with the group for nearly three years. After her painful departure, she founded a support network in 1991 with other families of former Opus Dei members to shed light on what they believe are Opus Dei's true intentions.

With the upcoming release of the movie of "The Da Vinci Code," which casts Opus Dei as the villain, DiNicola's Opus Dei Awareness Network, or ODAN, has suddenly gained more attention.

"I really do feel God let me go through all this so I could be a spokesperson," DiNicola said. "If there was nothing wrong with Opus Dei, we wouldn't need to exist." ODAN isn't out to attack Opus Dei, but it would like to see more transparency.

Opus Dei lends no credence to ODAN except to express dismay at members who leave Opus Dei.

Changed Personality

DiNicola still believes the organization is untruthful in its vocation.

"Everything they do is couched in beautiful terms, sanctifying work and love, but in reality the whole process is deceiving and couched in orchestration," she said.

DiNicola was a freshman at Boston College when she went on her first Opus Dei retreat. Her parents rejoiced that their daughter took the time to deepen her faith while at school.

Without telling her parents, DiNicola joined Opus Dei and in her junior year became a numerary, a lay person who pledges celibacy and devotion to God's teachings. She moved into an all-female Opus Dei residence and slowly broke her ties with outside friends and family.

"I could tell I was a different person," she said. "When I was back home, people were devastated at how distant I was."
Her mother didn't like the change in DiNicola's personality and begged her to consider other options within the church, she said.

DiNicola said she had already fallen prey to what she now considers a controlling organization. "All choices are made for you when you're in a group. You're not allowed to question anything," she said. Her mail was read, her salary was handed over and she needed approval before reading anything or leaving the residence, she said.

"If you wanted to shop, you needed permission," DiNicola said.  Opus Dei acknowledges that many members hand over portions of their salaries but says that there is no truth behind allegations of excessive control, and that its only intention is to teach and coach.

Mother Teresa Did It.
Obedience came in all sorts of ways.

She said she was presented with the cilice, a spiked chain that members strap around their upper thigh to prove their devotion. Wearing it "is not presented as an optional thing," DiNicola said.

"I think a few people in Opus Dei just mildly slap it on their back while reciting prayers," Opus Dei spokeswoman Terri Carron told ABC News' "Good Morning America." "Mother Teresa, everybody knows her life, most people wouldn't think she needs penance, but she did practice penance."

Carron also refutes the claims of excessive control. "You have to understand that people who are giving themselves up — as I do as a supernumerary — the idea anyone would be controlling me is rather absurd," Carron said.

Dennis Dubro, 55, spent 17 years in Opus Dei before abandoning the group, and he disagrees with Carron. In his view, supernumeraries, those in the less-formal category of membership that allows people to have families and live in their own homes - are clueless about the organization's real intentions.

"I was in levels of leadership and like an onion, the outer core never finds out about these things," Dubro said. Supernumeraries make up about 70 percent of the 87,000 members worldwide, with the core representing about 20 percent.

Dubro grew close to Opus Dei while he was a student at MIT, and he eventually became a numerary. Opus Dei sent him to Australia to oversee a boys dorm, which is when he started to question the organization.

"As you move into leadership, they test your obedience and see how loyal you are," Dubro said. He likened the experience to loyalty in the Mafia, saying that he became a puppet.

"You are expected to stand up and tell the world that you are acting in your own name when you carry out the secret indications of your directors," he said. Dubro became dismayed by the manipulative elements of the organization, from the complexity of its finances to its lack of transparency.

Easy to Join, Harder to Leave

His disloyalty led to his departure, although he said Opus Dei doesn't let its members go freely, despite what it says.
"When you talk to your spiritual director about things like that [leaving], he tells you that you will go to hell if you abandon your God-given vocation," Dubro said.

In DiNicola's case, her parents became more and more concerned in 1989 when she turned down their invitation to come home for Easter. With the help of the local clergy and a psychologist, DiNicola spent hours in counseling.

She recalls the time as extremely painful, but eventually she came to wonder why, if Opus Dei's teaching focused on friendship, it entailed abandoning her family. In addition, she found the constant pressure to recruit new members misleading and contrary to the doctrine of spreading the good word through charitable work.

She distanced herself from Opus Dei and moved in with her sister, readjusting slowly to living independently again.
"I soon realized that Opus Dei had squashed my true emotions, and so every day was an emotional roller coaster ride for months," she said.

Opus Dei's Carron counters that things don't always work out in life.

"You have to understand, this is a lifelong commitment," she said. "Many people go into a lifelong commitment, whether it's Opus Dei or a marriage, and sometimes they don't quite gel, sometimes it doesn't work for them and they get out of it and it's very sad when it ends."

DiNicola interprets her departure another way. "I feel like I have been healed of the abuse," she said. "I felt God showed me the truth."

We will print a lot more stuff re OPUS DEI in upcoming issues.

Keep this philosophy in mind the next time you hear or are about to repeat a rumor.

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance, who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students...?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three."

"Test of Three?"

"That's correct," Socrates continued.

"Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man replied, "actually I just heard about it."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not.

Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Socrates continued, "You may still pass though because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to  me?"

"No, not really..."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?" The man was defeated and ashamed and said no more.

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

It also explains why Socrates never found out that Plato was banging his wife.

Paul McCullough ’70,  our marvelous New York correspondent  has sent us a few pics showing the progress made in NY City since 9-11.  Thanks a lot, Paul!

This picture of the Brooklyn Bridge was taken from  Paul‘s desk.  Yes, that is a water fall at the far end. It is part of an art exhibit along the East River this past summer.

This was taken from Church and Courtland Streets.  It shows that 7 World Trade Center has been completed and that the building around Manhattan Community College is still continuing.

This picture was taken from the conference room at 225 Broadway, 22nd floor, looking down into the pit.  The foundation to the freedom tower is being prepared at the right side of the construction site.