(edited in bold to reflect input from some Opus Dei members... thanks very much!)

There are probably more similarities than differences between Opus Dei and the Regnum Christi movement / Legionaries of Christ spiritual family: both were founded recently (Opus Dei in 1928, the Legionaries in 1941), forged in times of persecution of the local Church, and given final approval by John Paul II (in 1982 and 1983 respectively) after very rapid expansion; both are very strong in the Spanish-speaking Catholic world because their founders came from Spain and Mexico respectively but are active worldwide; both are so modern in their spirituality and approach that they represent new structural forms for Church organizations; both are ways of putting into practice the writings of Vatican II about the specific leadership role by which laypeople are called to live and work actively in the Church to transform society through personal holiness and Christian evangelization; both use expressions of faith and devotion that are now usually considered “traditional”; in both, some lay members live lives of total consecration to God in chastity and in community life; both are ways that entire families can get involved in a single spirituality in ways adapted to age and gender; both place a great deal of emphasis on personal spiritual direction and on the sacrament of confession; both have large annual ordinations of priests in Rome (there were 59 priests ordained at my ordination); both focus on large, strong families with a deep pro-life ethic and have deep reverence for the Church, for the Eucharist, for the Blessed Virgin, and for the Pope; both have spawned a tremendous amount of new organizations (especially schools) and apostolic works in the Church, creating both enthusiasm and friction; and both are no stranger to controversy.

Because of some of those traits, both groups are usually styled as “conservative” in the secular press, though that makes little sense and both groups chafe at it, acknowledging their fidelity to Catholic faith and heritage, but putting more stress on the remarkable novelty of approach and structure that set them apart from more ancient forms of life in the Church (monastic structures like the Benedictines, medieval orders like the Franciscans and Dominicans, religious congregations modeled on the Jesuits, etc.).

However, those who are more connected to the two groups will immediately start pointing out differences, and there are plenty too. It’s sort of like any two Catholic families that go to the same parish: Each family has a lot in common as far as what they believe and what they do outwardly, but the particular “personality” of each family and the ways they express their faith are often very very different. Sometimes we might even talk of the specific “charisma” of each family; in the case of religious families like Opus Dei and RC/LC, it’s a question of charism.

For what follows, my knowledge of Opus Dei is drawn mostly from a biography of St. Josemaría Escrivá and from John Allen’s 2005 book. I’m very open to correction if anybody else can help…

Though a bishop heads Opus Dei as prelate, for the most part the local leadership comes from committed lay members. Regnum Christi and the Legionaries, on the other hand, have formed a single organization in which Legionary priests have held most leadership roles. That’s changing now, however, with the ongoing Vatican-guided restructuring of RC/LC, and the lay branches are getting more autonomy and more lay leadership.

Opus Dei, though very united in spirituality and in mission, is fairly decentralized in its governance and very decentralized in its finances; RC/LC is extremely centralized, to the point where it’s now being relaxed somewhat. Those choices allowed Opus Dei to grow faster in more countries because of greater flexibility; in the case of RC/LC, the centralization was designed in part to allow for very quick response to the needs of the Church or the requests of the Vatican.

(Added: With regard to the Opus Dei's governance, the Work is centralized insofar as they are all united in following the intentions of the Prelate, but the day-to-day decisions of running the centers, as well as other apostolic undertakings, are attended to by the center directors and regional directors, though of course, always in congruence with the intentions of the Bishop, currently Bishop Javier Echevarria. Concerning the quick growth of the Work to other countries, a significant factor contributing to that as well is the commitment of members in adjusting to the needs of the Work.)

Part of the core(added: actually, it's the very foundation) of the spirituality of Opus Dei is divine filiation: living in the awareness of being an adopted child of God. The basic core of RC/LC’s spirituality is Christ-centeredness: imitating the example that Our Lord gave us in all virtues in his human life. The difference between focusing more on God the Father or on God the Son may seem subtle, but the overall difference in flavor it gives to the two spiritualities is quite notable. (Added: Of course, St. Josemaria, founder of Opus Dei, also put great emphasis on being like Christ, that is, in living the virtues the way Christ would live them. In other words, we must be like Christ in living the virtues, to be "alter Christus, ipse Christus.")

If you were to attend an average spiritual talk or retreat with both, you’re likely to hear references from Opus Dei about the sanctification of work, and you’re likely to hear from RC/LC about the virtue of charity. Sure, every Christian is called to do both, but a charism of a religious family is based on living out certain aspects of the Gospel with greater intensity and with some particular emphasis. Added: Of course you'll also hear about charity/fraternity from Opus Dei and sanctification in daily life from Regnum Christi in retreats and other forms of spiritual formation... that goes without saying.

Finally, though the founders knew each other and both lived lives mired in controversy, the final judgment of the Church has been very different in the two cases. Opus Dei’s founder is now Saint Josemaría Escrivá (whose personality often clashed significantly with others, but whose personal sanctity is also a matter of public record), whereas the founder of RC/LC, Fr Marcial Maciel, lived a very scandalous double life that included affairs, children, mishandling of funds and abuse of minors, which remained mostly concealed from almost all the members of RC/LC until a year after his death. So there's clearly an immense difference there. The Church’s judgment so far has been that both organizations are nevertheless the work of the Holy Spirit in great mystery, and that the sanctity of many members of both organizations is due to God’s work and not to the human instruments of his Will by which they were founded. The Vatican assigned Cardinal Velasio de Paolis in 2010 to oversee a deep reform of RC/LC that is ongoing and planned to conclude in 2014; meanwhile, Opus Dei continues through a period of healthy long-term growth.

Both organizations continue to take a pretty bad rap in the press. I’m basing myself in part on John Allen’s analysis here, because it seems to make sense to me: Both organizations are essentially adolescents in the Church and have had the difficulties that adolescents usually do regarding identity issues and imprudent behavior. The initial leadership for both had to be drawn from a very small pool of initial members, some of whom were up to the task more than others; as a result, there are all kinds of horror stories in circulation from ex-members about their experiences in “the Work” and in “the Movement,” just as there are tens of thousands of happy, fulfilled current members of both organizations in dozens of countries who would be happy to share their own positive experience with you. I would suggest taking it all like you would take anything else on the Internet, including this: with a certain grain of salt, knowing that objectivity and subjectivity mix online to a degree that’s very difficult to gauge in each case.

This is always true in adversity that God mysteriously permits: Both organizations have matured greatly as they have been pruned, both in humility and in collective wisdom. Only time will tell about the fruits of sanctity that, God willing, they will continue to bear.

Again, like I said, there's much more that can be said, and I'm very open to feedback from anyone who has more firsthand knowledge of both organizations...

- Father Shane

Oh, you definitely need to read JP2's Letter to Artists. Already seen it?

God bless you!

- Father Shane

P.S. Oh, thanks for mentioning this, iam3rd: an excellent speech by Pope Benedict on the same topic.

Wow, that's a really intelligent question. Thanks be to God, another professor here where I live just gave a course on the idea of the "image of God," so I asked him how he would respond. Here's his take:

Make sense? God bless you!

- Father Shane