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Catholic Committee on Opus Dei Operations in NYC

“Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid.” – Dr. Valery Legasov, “Chernobyl”

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Opus Dei is currently operating a large and well-funded recruitment apparatus in and around NYC via various front groups.

By “recruitment apparatus”, we mean the centralized, intentional, and persistent accumulation of personal information, tracking of individuals, invited by members and/or otherwise motivated to attend social and/or religious activities controlled by Opus Dei-affiliated centers, individuals and/or initiatives. This provides lay and priest numerary-operated Centers as well as regional Delegations with a vetted list of individuals possessing the necessary psychological, philosophical, financial and/or political potential to further the multiple purposes of Opus Dei and its related front agencies.
This site will seek to inform the Catholic Community in the New York City/Tri-State area about the Opus Dei recruitment operations that are currently active and ongoing.

Opus Dei has been identified by many Catholics and mainstream psychologists as operating similar in many respects to a cult, ie: engaging in secrecy, brainwashing, information gathering/dossier building, physical/verbal threats, indoctrination and psychological manipulation. Dr. Steven Hassan’s BITE model of Authortarian Control accurately describes many of Opus Dei’s practices.

Please note that the information on this site is provided for educational and/or research purposes only. This site is protected under the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution and the Section 107 of the Copyright Act, also known as “Fair Use”. Any attempts by people associated with, attached to, supporters of or who are members of Opus Dei who physically and/or legally threaten any member of the Catholic Committee on Opus Dei Operations in NYC about this site and/or its contents will be considered to be engaging in Aggravated Harassment as per Section 240.3 of the New York State Criminal Code. Such violations of criminal law will be reported to the NYPD.

Useful Links — Graphic of Opus Dei financial operations/fronts in the US — PDF of Opus Dei operations — Additional Recruitment Fronts in the USA
Excellent documentary on Opus Dei by DW, the German public broadcasting service
Investigation into Opus Dei by Journeyman Pictures/ABC Australia

  1. Opus Dei North American HQ – located at 243 Lexington Ave/139 East 34th St., NY, NY. This is Opus Dei’s base of operations in North America and NYC. A number of additional recruitment fronts operate out of this location. This building is also known as “Murray Hill Place (financials)“. It houses female and male numeraries in physically disconnected sections of the building, as well as maintenance workers who are unpaid numerary assistants. Wikimedia has an excellent picture taken from the southwest of the building. Views of the building show the entrance on 139 East 34th Street with a larger picture here.
    Please find the Notice of Property Value from the NYC government finance site (Block 890, Lot 25) as well as Market Value/Assessment. The NYC Property Information Portal has an overhead tax map. Printable PDF from NYC Property Information Portal. The NYC Zoning Land Use Map (ZoLA) and a printable PDF NYCityMap by Arcgis has additional information.
  2. Parish of St. Agnes – 143 East 43rd Street, NY. NY. Parish located in midtown Manhattan just east of Grand Central Station. Administration of the parish was assigned to Opus Dei priests by the New York Archdiocese in 2016 and as such should be considered a recruitment front.
  3. Schuyler Hall – recruitment front that operates out of 243 Lexington Ave; targets single, professional men
  4. Murray Hill Conference Center – recruitment front that operates out of 243 Lexington Ave; targets men; retreats only to men
  5. Murray Hill Place – recruitment front that operates out of 243 Lexington Ave; targets women; offers retreats only to women
  6. Murray Hill Institute – recruitment front that operates out of 243 Lexington Ave; serves as a recruitment front that targets women. Murray Hill financials can be found here.
  7. The Avenue/Highland Study Center – 31 East 38th St, NY, NY; recruitment operation that appears to target women and children (8th through 12th grade).
  8. Alderton House – 117 East 70th St, NY, NY; recruitment operation that appears to target single, professional women. Financials can be found here.
  9. Vancourt Study Center – 80 Lyncroft Road, New Rochelle, just north of NYC; recruitment operation that appears to target single, professional women. Appears to coordinate activities with recruitment fronts in Manhattan, like Alderton House.
  10. IESE Business School NYC – 165 West 57th Street, NY, NY; NYC campus of Opus Dei-run IESE business school, which is part of the University of Navarra, Opus Dei’s flagship university in Navarra, Spain. Targets students who attend its programs for recruitment. The building was purchased by the Clover Foundation in 2007 for $25 million. IESE financials can be found here.
  11. Leonine Forum – 165 West 57th Street, NY, NY; program that targets young female and male professionals; meets at IESE Business School NYC campus. The financial information about the Leonine Forum can be found here. Please note: Opus Dei will plant full Opus Dei members in each class in order to clandestinely gather personal information about attendees. This information is then passed onto personnel at Opus Dei’s headquarters for placement in each attendees dossier in order to assist with further recruitment.
  12. World Youth Alliance – 228 East 71st Street, NY, NY; recruitment front that targets single, professional women and men through various social programs and fundraisers.
  13. Riverside Study Center – 330 Riverside Drive, NY, NY; recruitment front that targets college students primarily, but not exclusively, at Columbia University. Located at 108th Street. Financials can be found here.
  14. Thomas Merton Institute for Catholic Life at Columbia University – 405 West 114th St., NY, NY, at this time, this organization is not an official an Opus Dei recruitment front. However, current intelligence indicates that most of the Board of Trustees/upper management are members and/or have strong ties to Opus Dei. As such, it is safe to assume that The Institute is being used to gather information on students for their Opus Dei recruitment dossiers in order eventually vector them into the geographically closest official front organization to Columbia, the Riverside Study Center. Merton Institute financials can be found here.
  15. South Bronx Educational Foundation – 843 Crotona Park North, Bronx, NY; recruitment front that targets college students from local universities, like Fordham and Manhattan College, to volunteer as tutors. Also targets children that attend the programs for recruitment.
  16. Rosedale Achievement Center – 1724 East 174th St, Bronx, NY; recruitment front that operates under the umbrella of the South Bronx Educational Foundation; targets college women and girls in grades 3 to 8.
  17. Crotona Achievement Center – 843 Crotona Park North, Bronx, NY; recruitment front that operates under the umbrella of the South Bronx Educational Foundation; targets college men and boys in grades 3 to 8.
  18. Southmont Center – 170 Montrose Ave, South Orange, NJ; recruitment front that targets college students from Seton Hall University, boys in grammar school and fathers.
  19. Overlook Study Center – 99/117 Overlook Circle, New Rochelle, NY; located just north of NYC; recruitment front that targets college students from Iona College, Mahattan College and Fordham University, boys in grammar school and fathers.
  20. Pegasus (Overlook Study Center) – recruitment front that targets boys in 1st through 4th grade and their fathers.
  21. Orion (Overlook Study Center) – recruitment front that targets boys in grades 5 to 7 and their fathers.
  22. Leadership Camp (Overlook Study Center) – recruitment front that targets boys in 6th through 8th grade.
  23. The Grade (Overlook Study Center) – recruitment front that targets boys in high school and their fathers. This front also appears to serve as a vehicle to push people towards universities that already have an Opus Dei operation so as to continue to recruit them once they are in college. Also has separate website: The Grade
  24. Youth Service International – 330 Riverside Drive, NY, NY; recruitment front that targets high school and college students through domestic and international service programs. Also organizes high school and univeristy students to attend the Opus Dei-run UNIV Forum” This event also serves a prime recruitment tool for Opus Dei.
  25. St. Michael’s Parish – 424 West 34th St; leadership of the parish is a part of Opus Dei; therefore the whole parish must be considered compromised as a recruitment front. Currently operate a Saints and Solemnities/Young Professionals Group that is a front that targets women and men professionals.
  26. Family Enrichment New York – meets at the Opus Dei-run IESE Business School on West 57th St, NY, NY; appears to target parents and single young professionals. Financials can be found here.
  27. Adeo Clubs – 163 East 81st Street, Ground Floor B. Formerly known as The Narnia Clubs. Targets grades 1 to 12 and their mothers through religious training. Also meets at Alderton House.
  28. Morningside Institute – 490 Riverside Drive, located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Targets Columbia University undergraduate and graduate students. Financials can be found here.
  29. Woodlawn Foundation – located at 56 Harrison St., Suite 401 New Rochelle, NY New Rochelle, just north of NYC. Primary financial arm of Opus Dei in the US. Financials can be found here.
  30. Montfort Academy – located Mount Vernon, just north of NYC. Small, private high school. Current information indicates that Opus Dei founded and operates the school, but there is no definite connection at this time.
  31. University of the Holy Cross Foundation – doing business as the Formation Foundation located at 420 Lexington Ave, NY, NY. Foundation that supports Opus Dei-run university in Rome. Changed name to Formation Foundation (below). Financials can be found here.
  32. Formation Foundation – also known as the University of the Holy Cross Foundation (above). Raises money for Opus Dei’s university in Rome, the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. Mailing address is South Bend, IN, but physical operation is 420 Lexington Ave, Suite 300, NY, NY, 10170. Financials can be found here.
  33. Clover Foundation – a foundation controlled by Opus Dei. Used as front to purchase 165 West 57th Street, the current location of IESE NYC, the NYC branch of the Opus Dei controlled IESE Business School NYC campus. Financials can be found here.
  34. Harambee USA – 117 East 70th St, NY, NY – a foundation controlled by Opus Dei that purports to assist with development in Africa. Operates out of New York City. Financials can be found here.
  35. Scepter Publishers – a publishing house owned and operated by Opus Dei. Mailing address in Strongville, OH, but true address is: 8 West 38th St, Suite 802, NY, NY 10018, Tel: 212-354-0670. Financials can be found here.
  36. Hawthorn Foundation – 667 Madison Ave, NY, NY – foundation that is working to raise money for an Opus Dei high school in Manhattan or Fairfield County, CT. Looking to raise $100 million. Current financials are here.
  37. Association for Cultural Interchange – an organization that Opus Dei uses to funnel finances to its other recruitment fronts around the world: Nigeria, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Kenya, India, Honduras, Hong Kong, Uruguay, Poland, Israel and Australia. Located at 420 Lexington Ave, Suite 300, NY, NY 10170. Financials can be found here.
  38. Witherspoon Institute – an Opus Dei run thinktank that targets students at Princeton University. 16 Stockton St, Princeton
  39. Mercer House – an Opus Dei residence that targets students at Princeton University. 34 Mercer St, Princeton, NJ
  40. Rosemoor Foundation – Opus Dei-run foundation that funnels money to recruitment fronts and foundations throughout the United States, UK, Israel, South Africa and Italy. Based in New York City; financials are here. Headquarters at 117 East 70th St, NY, NY
  41. The Art of Living – Opus Dei-run recruitment front targeting women in the NYC area.
  42. American Initiatives – an Opus Dei-run development organization that raises money for schools in underdeveloped countries to train women to work as servants in slave-like conditions at Opus Dei centers around the world. Financials can be found here. Headquarters at 117 East 70th St, NY, NY
  43. Wiggins House – recruitment front that targets students at Princeton University. Located at 34 Wiggins St, Princeton, NJ
  44. Princeton Women’s Cultural Center – non-profit that financially backs Wiggins House; located at same address as Wiggins House. Financials can be found here. Located at 34 Wiggins St, Princeton, NJ
  45. Google Map of major Opus Dei recruitment fronts in Manhattan: Blue Locations. CSV file of the NYC recruitment fronts can be found here. HTML file can be found here.

Contact: info AT catholic-nyc DOT org

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