"It occurred to Father Quixote that such a man was almost certainly a member of Opus Dei—that club of intellectual Catholic activists whom he could not fault and yet whom he could not trust. He was a countryman, and they belonged to the great cities." (page 50)
I met a man from a Central American country during my final semester of college who impressed me with his wit and humor. He made me laugh, though his jokes sometimes felt like a private joke between us as he liked to throw in references to Western literature, not a specialty of the grad student economists and sociologists in our friendly little group of five classmates.
He identified with the fight for freedom in his country; he applied Paolo Freire's consciousness-raising techniques to literacy education when he worked in the countryside on economic development. After the dictator was toppled he rose to an executive level government position, then founded a university. We did not stay in touch, but I occasionally looked for his bio online, enjoying the evidence of his success, until the day I saw that he had joined Opus Dei.
What is it? I hardly know, but I have faith in Father Quixote's judgment. The ex-mayor is even harsher, "I would like to believe in Hell if only to put the members of Opus Dei there with the Generalissimo." (page 50)
Dear S., know that both Quixote and I pray that you escape that fate.
My Tiny Career
