Opus Dei is known to many in Ireland through the prism of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. The pulp fiction author’s best-seller sets up the religious order as the ‘bad guys’ early in the story, only to step back later in the plot to reveal the true villain. But even though Opus Dei hierarchy ultimately ends up on the side of ‘right’ in the story, for most readers, their takeaway was probably a link between Opus Dei and what is termed the practice of mortification, including self-flagellation. This – and the institution’s reputation for secrecy – gives them a particular…

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