Editing Opus Dei (section)

==Alleged CIA Connections==
Opus Dei’s alleged ties to the CIA stem from its conservative ideology, political influence in anti-communist regimes, and the presence of members in sensitive U.S. government roles, though evidence is often circumstantial and debated. These connections are explored below, with links to your queried figures and operations.
===Cold War Anti-Communism and Political Influence===
During the Cold War, the CIA collaborated with conservative Catholic organizations to counter communism, including the Vatican’s Pro Deo service, established in 1944 with U.S. funding. [[Vernon Walters]], former CIA Deputy Director, visited Pope John Paul II seven times (1981–1988), signaling close Vatican-U.S. ties.

Opus Dei’s anti-communist stance aligned with U.S. interests, particularly in Latin America and Europe. In Chile, Opus Dei members supported [[Augusto Pinochet]]’s 1973 CIA-backed coup against [[Salvador Allende]], working with CIA-funded groups like Fatherland and Liberty, which merged into Chile’s secret police (DINA).

While Opus Dei as an organization denied political involvement, its members in Chile’s Catholic hierarchy endorsed Pinochet’s regime, which implemented Milton Friedman’s neoliberal policies via the [[Chicago Boys]], complementing CIA objectives.
===CIA Figures===
[[Thomas G. Clines]] and [[Theodore Shackley]], who orchestrated anti-Allende operations, were part of the CIA’s Latin American network, potentially overlapping with Opus Dei’s influence, though no direct link to the organization exists.

In 1982, John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan agreed to support Poland’s Solidarity movement against Soviet influence, with Opus Dei as a major financial donor, channeling funds from Catholic, German, and Jewish organizations. This operation, detailed in His Holiness by Carl Bernstein and Marco Politi, exemplifies Vatican-CIA collaboration, with Opus Dei as a conduit.
===Alleged Espionage and Intelligence Operations===
A 1980s surveillance center in Bogotá, Colombia, reportedly connected to the Vatican, registered data on Latin American clergy, allegedly aiding “death squads” in assassinations like those of Ignacio Ellacuría and Oscar Romero in El Salvador. Opus Dei’s involvement is claimed but unproven, with critics citing its conservative networks as facilitating intelligence-sharing with the CIA.

During John Paul II’s reign, Opus Dei allegedly facilitated the sale of Exocet missiles to Argentina’s dictatorship during the Falklands War, a covert operation with potential CIA awareness, though evidence is speculative.

The Vatican’s Holy Alliance (1566) and post-WWII arrests of Catholic officials for espionage in Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria suggest a long history of Vatican intelligence activities, with Opus Dei as a modern extension in some narratives.
===U.S. Government and Opus Dei Members===
FBI agent [[Robert Hanssen]], a supernumerary Opus Dei member, was convicted in 2001 of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia, selling 6,000 classified documents for $1.4 million. His actions, described as the “worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history,” damaged Opus Dei’s reputation, though the organization distanced itself, noting he left after his arrest. Hanssen’s case raised questions about Opus Dei’s influence in U.S. security circles, with FBI Director Louis Freeh, also rumored to be a member, facing scrutiny.