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Pope

Francis

has decided with a

Motu Proprio

, a papal document, to reform the influential

Catholic organization Opus Dei

, known in Europe and Latin America for its conservative positions.

The papal document, under the title

'Ad charisma tuendum'

('To protect the charisma'), effective as of this Thursday and released last July,

"reduces power and independence"

from the powerful organization within the church, according to experts in religious matters.

"Some have interpreted the provisions of the

Holy See in terms of

'

downgrading' or

'loss of power

.

' says Manuel Sánchez, from the

Opus Dei

press office, reiterating

the entity's official position

.

The

Argentine pontiff

, who since assuming the papacy in 2013 has vowed to reform the

Roman Curia

, the church's central government mired in a

series of scandals

, has approved several measures to modernize and ensure greater transparency within the institution.

On this occasion, the Pope's provisions affect a

powerful religious organization

that the Pope and now Saint

John Paul II

elevated at the beginning of his pontificate, in 1982, to the rank of "personal prelature."

Loss of privileges?

It is also the only existing prelature, a

true privilege

, since it was equated to a diocese with all the power of decision that that means.

"Forty years later,

Francis

seeks to put an end to an excessively hierarchical structure and 'rescue' the charismatic values ​​of an institution marked by

power struggles and the singularity

that makes it unique (for the moment) in the world," says

Jesús Bastante

, of the specialized page

Digital Religion

.

Accused by its

detractors of being a kind of secret sect

to pull the strings of power inside and outside the Vatican, something that the organization promptly denies,

Opus Dei

is present in more than 60 countries

and is made up of some 90,000 lay members, including political or business personalities, and

more than 2,000 priests,

especially in Europe and Latin America.

Founded in 1928

by the Spanish priest

Jose María Escrivá de Balaguer

, who died in Rome in 1975 at the age of 73, his canonization in 2002 by John Paul II sparked controversy

due to his closeness to the Franco dictatorship

.

According to some of the modifications decided by the

Argentine Pope

, that prelature becomes "depending on the Dicastery [or ministry] of the Clergy" and every year, instead of every five, the prelate must present to that body

a report about the internal situation

and the development of his apostolic work.

What comes from the Holy Father

is "filially welcomed

, with the desire to delve into what is essential," Sánchez underlines.

According to some interpretations of the text,

the leader of Opus Dei

will no longer be considered

a bishop

and will not be able to wear episcopal robes.

Opus Dei

's form of government

will be "based more on charisma than on hierarchical authority,"

Pope Francis

emphasizes in his document.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

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