Some ex-assistant numeraries of Opus Dei

This is a fundraiser to cover some of the personal costs, like retraining and counselling, that some ex-assistant numeraries of Opus Dei have to pay to restart their lives after leaving Opus Dei.

Opus Dei's well-documented emotionally and spiritually abusive practices leave devastating impacts on its members and ex-members.

Assistant numeraries - celibate domestic helps - are especially vulnerable when they leave because they don't have a well-paid job to help them restart their lives. Opus Dei does not help them.

As well as the psychological trauma from living isolated lives in Opus Dei, they often have physical problems from intense manual work for many years in Opus Dei.

Please read more here:

https://apnews.com/article/business-paraguay-europe-argentina-uruguay-43b48ed43c2f7ddebf05ec6203b12d8d

https://www.ft.com/content/53bbc8a8-1c5b-4c6e-8d50-8b7c00ffa5f8 [paywall]

I'm a former male member of Opus Dei, a Catholic organization for men and women. I was a numerary member, which means I was single and lived in a center with other men. I have no involvement with Opus Dei any more.

Who will benefit from this fundraiser?

This fundraiser came out of discussions on a Reddit forum for ex-members and interested members of the public, Reddit /r/opusdeiexposed/ . We want to raise money for ex- “assistant numeraries” of the English-speaking regions, who typically left Opus Dei with no money and possessions (or very little) to restart their lives. This money is a gift.

This is not intended as a full fix or complete moral reparation for the assistant numeraries. It is simply a small way of saying “thank you” and of supporting ex assistant numeraries in living their best life. Many of us were largely or completely unaware of the conditions under which the assistant numeraries lived and worked, due to the practice of strict separation between the assistant numeraries and the other members. For instance, it is not allowed to say “thank you” when the assistant numeraries serve your table (as any polite person does in a restaurant or family home).

Perhaps non-English-speaking regions will do something similar for their own language groups, creating their own platforms, if they think it is a good idea. Again, some people may wish to start their own longer-term initiatives to provide a stable source of support for ex-members of Opus Dei. This page, however, is just a very simple and immediate way of addressing an urgent need, focused upon the regions where we ourselves benefited from the work of assistant numeraries.

Reasons why assistant numeraries left Opus Dei

The reasons why many assistant numeraries have left Opus Dei, and the conditions under which they entered and worked for Opus Dei, were described in a recent article of the Financial Times, “The Opus Dei Diaries.” https://www.ft.com/content/53bbc8a8-1c5b-4c6e-8d50-8b7c00ffa5f8

https://apnews.com/article/business-paraguay-europe-argentina-uruguay-43b48ed43c2f7ddebf05ec6203b12d8d

Some of the members of the Reddit forum are currently in contact with at least 6 ex assistant numeraries who worked for the region of Ireland, and 2 who worked for the region of the USA.

Donations

Donations will be collected here in any currency supported by GoFundMe. The total will be equally divided among the ex assistant numeraries of English-speaking regions with whom we are in direct personal contact.

Who are “assistant numeraries” of Opus Dei?

The household work of running the Opus Dei conference centers where retreats and annual courses and workshops take place, as well as many “centers” (houses where celibate numeraries, including numerary priests, live) is largely done by celibate women called assistant numeraries. These tasks include: grocery shopping; cooking; waitressing the meals of numeraries, supernumeraries, associates, and cooperators/friends of Opus Dei members; cleaning up after meals; washing and ironing all the clothes of all people in residence; washing and ironing all bed linens and table linens; washing and ironing the oratory linens; dusting; vacuuming; polishing floors; washing the cars; cleaning the bathrooms; ensuring that the bathrooms are well-stocked; etc.

They do all this to a high professional standard, often working very long hours. They do this by design of the founder of Opus Dei, the idea being that the priests and numeraries – male and female – can spend their time on their own professional work and on giving ascetical “formation” for Opus Dei. There is no possibility of advancement in this system, one is an assistant numerary for life. (Although occasionally someone might enter Opus Dei as an assistant numerary and then switch to being a different kind of member, this is analogous to a misdiagnosis and then a corrected diagnosis. There is no way to - after some years - pursue further education and then switch to being a numerary, supernumerary, or associate.)

They do this work for free, or if they are paid (typically sub-minimum-wage, since their room and board are counted as compensation) they hand into Opus Dei nonprofits the money earned, only being allowed to keep a small portion for personal expenditures like toiletries. Assistant numeraries are excluded from governance roles in Opus Dei (including decision-making regarding the policies that regulate themselves), and from giving spiritual direction to other members of Opus Dei, no matter how many decades they may have been in Opus Dei.

Their sacrifice is immense. There are many reports from ex assistant numeraries and ex “numerary administrators” (=female numerary supervisors of assistant numeraries) about humiliating treatment as a systematic feature of this arrangement. Assistant numeraries’ meals were/are leftovers from the numeraries rather than fresh meals of their own; their oratory was/is separate and less ornate than that of the numeraries; their clothing was/is hand-me-downs from the female numeraries; their living quarters were/are darker and smaller than the numeraries’.

What happens if they leave Opus Dei?

All this means that many assistant numeraries who leave Opus Dei later in life have very little money or resources to live independently and make their own way in life. They have missed out on many years of education, skills training in their preferred field, career advancement, savings for cars and houses, pension contributions, community ties, life skills, etc. Some also leave with psychological trauma or chronic physical pain/disability from years of heavy manual work.

Often, ex assistant numeraries have particular financial needs surrounding healthcare, counseling, or education.

Have you benefited from the work of assistant numeraries?

We hope that anyone with financial means who has benefited from the work of assistant numeraries will consider making a donation, especially ex-numeraries, and especially the male ones. Assistant numeraries provided most of us with a comfortable lifestyle, like living in a luxury serviced apartment. They played a significant role in making it possible for many of us to pursue successful professional careers in the outside world. So when we left Opus Dei, we had a good job to fall back on.

This appeal is open to anyone, including current members of Opus Dei and cooperators. Many of Opus Dei’s activities over the years could not have happened without the domestic work of assistant numeraries, including former ones.

What happens next?

One month from now, the money will be withdrawn in USD. The total will be divided equally per eligible head. An American coordinator will disburse the gift money to the American recipients, and transfer the rest to coordinators in other English-speaking countries who will distribute it to those people.

We will keep you updated here and on the Reddit forum.

Anonymity and trust

Anonymity is respected. Please create a burner account if you want to donate anonymously. If you’re thinking about donating but have questions first, please join the Reddit forum, which will also allow you to remain anonymous.

Please feel free to read this testimony and call for action from a former male numerary https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QJ79ULg6Ebgy5ISM1MyfZvSWdP_fy-deGtsNDrNe1Ss/edit