MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Opus Dei briefs the Pope on Argentina “controversies” amid labor exploitation allegations

In 2021, 43 women filed complaints in Argentina saying they were recruited while vulnerable — some as minors — and were made to perform years of domestic work without pay

Pope Leo XIV on Monday met with Opus Dei Prelate Fernando Ocáriz, as the organization’s leadership presented its “institutional perspective” on “certain controversies” in Argentina, against the backdrop of ongoing allegations involving domestic servitude and human trafficking.

According to a statement, the audience — also attended by Auxiliary Vicar Mariano Fazio — took place in an atmosphere of “great trust.” Opus Dei did not specify what the “specific controversies” were, but the meeting came as Argentine prosecutors continue to examine claims brought by a group of women who say they were subjected to conditions of servitude within the institution.

In 2021, 43 women filed complaints in Argentina saying they were recruited while vulnerable — some as minors — and were made to perform years of domestic work without pay, describing the situation as “slavery” or servitude.

The case intensified when Argentine authorities accused Fazio — a senior global figure within Opus Dei — of “human trafficking under the modality of reduction to servitude,” according to the account cited by EFE and also reflected in Argentine reporting by Clarín on the broader set of allegations and indictments involving Opus Dei leadership.

Opus Dei denies wrongdoing. The organization said media coverage has “distorted the reality” of the case, without providing additional detail on the substance of its explanation to the Pope.

Statutes: Vatican review remains “under study”

The meeting also addressed Opus Dei’s ongoing effort to update its statutes in line with reforms launched under the late Pope Francis. Opus Dei’s statement said Leo XIV told Ocáriz and Fazio that the process remains “under study” and that it is still “not possible to foresee a publication date” for the revised statutes.

Opus Dei submitted its proposed revisions last June, following Francis’ 2022 motu proprio Ad charisma tuendum, which reshaped the prelature’s institutional framework — including placing it under the Vatican’s dicastery for the clergy and requiring an annual report on its apostolic work — as described in the same reference.

The audience also touched on priestly and religious vocations in the Church, highlighting what Opus Dei described as a contrast between Africa and Europe.