Swords and Scallops

I've found a great article on Opus Dei. It's seriously not what Dan Brown's DVC paints it to be.

Via Voice of America:

The image of Opus Dei that filmgoers will see when The DaVinci Code opens May 19th is of a secretive, sinister, sometimes violent organization within the Catholic Church.

The image of Opus Dei that its leaders want the public to see is of Michael Barvick, the Executive Director of the Youth Leadership Foundation, a Washington, D.C. group that helps disadvantaged minority children with academic aid and character development.

He says Opus Dei provides its members -- who call their spiritual activities "The Work" -- with ways to incorporate faith and prayer into their daily lives. "Basically, what ‘The Work’ does is provide that reminder, provide the coaching, those "norms of piety" as they are called, that help us to remember that we have a vocation, to be good men and women, to be imitators of Christ and to try and share that with people around us."...