A thrilling exposé revealing how Opus Dei — Financial Times a secretive, ultra-conservative Catholic sect — pushed its radical agenda within the Church and around the globe, using billions of dollars siphoned from one of Europe’s largest banks.

When Gareth Gore was dispatched to report on the sudden collapse of Banco Popular, he uncovered one of the most brazen cases of corporate pillaging in history, perpetrated by a group of men sworn to celibacy and self-flagellation.

Drawing on unparalleled access to bank records, insider accounts, and exclusive interviews with whistleblowers from within Opus Dei, Gore reveals how money from the bank was used to lure unsuspecting recruits — some of them only children — into a life of servitude. He also tracks the ascent of Opus Dei around the globe, exposing its role in bankrolling many right-wing causes, including the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

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‘Opus is a genuine exposé, a fluid, authoritative account backed up by more than 100 pages of footnotes. It seeks to lift the veil on an organisation whose secrecy — and outward image of piety and impecuniousness — masks, according to Gore, a litany of exploitative practices, opaque money, and clandestine political influence operations that has, so far, culminated in the Trumpist takeover of the US Supreme Court … Gareth Gore has done a great service in putting all this material in the public domain in such a digestible format.’

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‘A deeply disturbing and important book which will interest and concern anyone who believes in that blessed trinity of modern democracy — openness, transparency, and accountability.’

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‘Under Gore's skilful research readers will learn about a 100-year-old organisation that was designed to impose its view of religion and the world on everyone. Never has “follow the money” been so important. Gore lays out, in meticulous detail, how Opus Dei, whose members are known as “numeraries” and “supernumeraries”, recruit young men who are wealthy, come from wealthy families, or are destined to become wealthy … The wealthy Americans that Gore references in this book, and their relationship to Opus Dei, provides readers with a wealth-based roadmap that exposes the serious threat this organisation poses to the country.’

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‘Gareth Gore's investigation into Opus Dei reveals a powerful and shadowy organisation whose reach extends into politics, religion, and finance … Vividly told and excellently researched.’

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‘A new, deeply researched book.’

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‘Gareth Gore’s new book, Opus is quite frankly shocking. It’s also a much-needed exposé of what looks very much like a cult within the Catholic Church. … It’s clear from Gore’s own detailed notes and the extensive hours he spent interviewing both members and former members that financial and political scandal has dogged the movement since its very beginning … In 14 chapters, Gore lays out the details that he found, telling the extraordinary story of a small Spanish sect that, with the help of the Franco regime, quickly learned how to excel in financial and political corruption.’

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‘In identifying Opus Dei’s part in the Christian Nationalist movement, Gore has done a public service.’

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‘One of the strengths of Opus is how Gore situates Opus Dei’s political machinations within the Vatican … Opus is a thoroughly researched, accessible and readable account of its activities and what is in store for the world if it achieves its ambitions. Gareth Gore has done a major service in bringing its operation into the light of day.’

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‘Opus, written by the financial journalist Gareth Gore, is a solidly researched work and will undoubtedly survive the public-relations, and even legal, blitz that Opus Dei will surely mount against it.’