In a recent investigation by MeidasTouch hosts Ben Meiselas and Court Accountability’s co-founder and executive director Alex Aronson, an unsettling connection was uncovered between Opus Dei, a secretive Catholic sect formed in 1920s Spain, and MAGA-aligned federal judges in the United States. The investigation traces how Opus Dei, notorious for its hidden agendas and extreme religious practices, has infiltrated America's legal system through key figures like Leonard Leo, a conservative mastermind behind the Federalist Society.
Opus Dei first gained widespread recognition through fictional works like The Da Vinci Code, but as Aronson and Meiselas point out, its real-world influence is far from fiction. The sect, initially formed under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco in Spain, has long sought to embed its far-right Christian ideology into civic life. One of its most successful endeavors has been aligning with Leonard Leo, a name synonymous with right-wing judicial appointments and dark money influence in U.S. politics.
Leo’s role, often overshadowed by public figures like Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, is far more insidious than previously thought. By leveraging over $1.6 billion in dark money, Leo has worked to install judges who espouse an extremist, theocratic agenda, including the dismantling of women’s reproductive rights and the erosion of the separation between church and state. Opus Dei’s involvement, as uncovered in Gareth Gore's book Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy Inside the Catholic Church, shows how deeply intertwined these forces have become.
Aronson explains how Opus Dei operates with a dual structure: it includes elite members who live in secretive, self-contained residences and regular, lay members who work within society to influence key sectors such as law and politics. Leonard Leo, closely linked to Opus Dei through Washington, D.C.'s Catholic Information Center, uses his connections to steer judicial decisions that reflect the sect's vision of a far-right, Christian-dominated America.
The investigation paints a chilling picture of how these alliances manifest in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions. Overturning Roe v. Wade was just one of many goals of the Opus Dei-Leo network. Their broader agenda includes advancing Christian nationalism, funding organizations that fight against anti-discrimination laws, and even laying the groundwork for a potential national abortion ban under the guise of "fetal personhood."
This secretive yet powerful group wields extraordinary influence behind the scenes, shaping rulings that are pushing the United States toward a theocratic and undemocratic future. As Aronson underscores, unless there’s a concerted effort to expose and dismantle these dark money channels, the U.S. legal system will continue to be a puppet of far-right religious extremism.
In their closing remarks, Meiselas and Aronson encourage viewers to stay informed, amplify these stories, and push for transparency and reform within the judiciary. "We have a moment here," Aronson stresses, "to prevent this far-right Catholic [extremist group] from entrenching itself in our government. But it’s going to take a long-term effort from all of us."
MeidasTouch is thrilled to bring you this important interview ad-free right here on Substack. If you are able to support our work, please consider joining as a paid member today.
Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society are tax exempt enemies of the American people.
Ugh of course Heritage is tax exempt, I forgot about this. Grotesque. Churches need to start paying taxes too
They are terrorist organizations- just because they don’t carry guns to their meetings doesn’t mean they aren’t terrorist
Tax exempt?.. think Catholic church.
Please read above.
Opus Dei is a cult. Just ask Dr Steven Hassan. Bill Barr is another member of this cult
And Barr’s father hired Jeffrey Epstein to teach middle school girls at Brearly Spence- forgetting which - disgusting
The Dalton School. The things Epstein got away with, enabled by so many, and only Maxwell ends up in prison, is such an indictment of our entire legal system.
This is a sobering watch. Understanding just how much conservative theocratic power they wield in the US political arena is staggering & sounds like they are only getting started.
Unlimited dark money in Washington DC is the problem
Yes. Ending the destruction and corruption that Citizens United unleashed upon our country, would be the single biggest action we could take towards shutting all this bullshit down for good.
Then, while these Christofascist freak organizations are reeling from that attack and trying to regroup, we need to pass the DISCLOSE Act to expose them all, and demand Congress ends the Electoral College and expand the Supreme Court.
Sadly though, we must first hope that there are enough sane, reasonable, and intelligent voters left in our country to give the Dems the House, Senate, and Whitehouse. I no longer have faith in that being true...
In May 2025, KC Chief's kicker Harrison Butker's "commencement speech" (aka promotional ad for Project 2025) at Benedictine College has business ties to Regina Caeli Academy who has ties Leonard Leo.
The student voucher program that TX Governor Greg Abbott wants to badly would use state/federal funds to support private schools, denying public education resources to run as intended by the Department of Education (which Project 2025 world disband).
To quote Noam Chomsky, "Schools are being targeted by privatization. It's a technique to ensure the public doesn’t get what it needs. They treat the public as irrelevant. The public is dismissed. Services should go to the wealthy so you privitize the schools. The rich get what they want. The only service that is maintained for the poor is the prison system but you have to increase the prison population to get rid of the "irrelevant" parts of the population and boosts the construction business. Maintain high tech business is through the Pentagon. The public pays the cost and any profit goes to private corporations. Security employs a lot of people and it keeps them out of the government's way. Schools, hospitals, libraries or anything that serves what some call the "undeserving public." It guides state policies to benefit the wealthy sector because they think they are the only ones that count."
In other words, a Project 2025 government doesn't want the public to get what they NEED (affordable housing, healthcare, food, education, Constitutional rights, etc), they want the wealthy, privileged getting exactly what they want.
And Catholics don't want to have a clue. They don't want anyone or anything to ruffle their world that would make them have to come to a conclusion they don't want to hear. Former Catholic here. The church makes it very clear that they are NOT to question anything. The Catholic church is, basically, just like the mafia, or, like Rosemary said, the Masons. Only difference is that they have been around a lot longer and is more established than those organizations. Opus Dei is probably a more secretive part of the church.
Nice work Ben!
We do NOT have a lot of time.
They have never been this close to taking over our nation.
They chose to post Project 2025. Why would they do that unless they were ready?
J-6 was a practice run.
They have had 4 years to plan, train, and recruit.
There is a 90% probability that they are moving their chess pieces into position now.
I hope there are loyal people in the FBI watching the militias movements.
The Catholic Taliban will use the Evangelicals as their fodder.
They will not stop. They will kill us.
Scary.
As a former Catholic, I believe Opus Dei is like the Masons for Catholics. Very secretive.
The only way to give personhood to fetuses is to TAKE personhood away from women. That is UNACCEPTABLE!
I think the upshot is that they don’t care about the “incubator”. They are heading for totalitarian white male rule. For white men, by white men. Women, people of color will lose all autonomy.
This is the REAL "deep state," a group of right-wing billionaires trying to control everyone. No wonder they deflect by blaming the gov't, to keep the heat of the true villians - the right-wing billionaires aspiring to cement their corporate oligarchy through Project 2025.
I am a practicing Catholic and I am appalled at the actions and policies of Opus Dei. They are NOT practicing what Jesus Christ prophesied. It's all in the Sermon on the Mount.
Read Greg Olear’s Substack about this very topic. Really bad stuff.
Alito was selected in the 80’s for appointment to overturn Roe which I heard directly from speaking with his mother whom I knew. “All set,” was what she said. “To overturn Roe and completely ban abortion,” she said. And “He better if he knows what’s good for him, or else what has all this been for? I’m telling you it’s all set.”
We may as have Rosemary’s Baby in real time.
JFK, our first Catholic President’s speech,right before he was assassinated before our eyes. Every President since has been mum. The universe is now opening and evil will be revealed and rejected. The rot will be rooted out and eliminated. Start with Traitor 45 and keep going.
I gather Bill Barr and Pompeo (for example) this is also their cult.
This story is going to be the basis for a"Movie of the Week" keep your Religion out of our Politics!! Terrific article this evening 💯👍💙
Disturbing
This is what Trump is fomenting in our country among others seeking power through him. Trump must not be elected. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2024/10/04/donald-trump-supported-bible-one-of-few-that-meets-ryan-walters-criteria-for-ok-classrooms/75510021007/
You really need to watch the SVBs (Silicon Valley Bros) because they are actively using Trump to take over the Republican Party. Elon Musk does not like Trump, the boys are working toward putting Vance in the drivers seat. JD is perfect, aligned with the Inquisition Catholics and SVBs, what a nice combo for them.
Mayme, you have it right. Randi Rhodes (Free Soeech TV) has tied this together also. Leonard Leo, Opus Dei, Bill Barr, SCOTUS appointments; then SVBros, Thiel, Musk, now Vance, use Trump as a pawn, crash the world economy to get their bitcoin currency to supplant U.S. Dollar. They're the World Powers. Christian Nationalists/New Globalists.
Thank you for posting this. I listened to a stunning interview with Gareth Gore on the Substack of Bette Dangerous a couple of days ago and made a post about it but I don’t have the reach that you do. Really significant information about the connection of Opus Dei and the serious attempt to takedown our democracy.
Here is my post: https://substack.com/@granscan/note/c-71327345?r=hksiy&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
One more layer of the boogie man. My question is how does Opus Dei affect elections. Money, yes. Candidate selection, yes. How about direct meddling with vote counts?
I can't believe that Biden 'doesn't understand the powers behind it all'. I agree this is true of some and others who want support for Catholic dogma to take precedence over any other discussion but after years of sexual misconduct revelations I'm sure many are not so naive. My question about Biden's activities in the past hasn't been addressed (I'm not saying he is currently an Opus Dei member but he certainly seems fervent to use your word.
Frightening
Early connection of Joe Biden to Opus Dei/ Leonard Leo when he helped get Clarence Thomas on to the Supreme Court?
It's highly likely that any Catholic in a high power political position might be inadvertently helping with this scheme because they don't really understand the powers behind it all & what those powers are aiming for. So many fervently religious folks are too innocent about what the powerful are up to & are more likely to protect their beloved religion from any serious inquiry - that's how the sexual misadventures get covered up - too many people think important religious people could not possibly do such things, hence they prefer to consider them innocent !
Ok are you British?
When there is no seperation between religion and government you end up with an Ayatollah as president and call yourself Iran.
When people masquerading as Christian conspire to overtake the reigns of government and seek to force the will of the people to obey or be damned, you end up with the Dictatorship States of America.
Russia has pushed this agenda with spies, propaganda, Paul Manafort, collaborators and a useful idiot.
Wherever God erects a house of prayer, The Devil always builds a chapel there; And 'twill be found upon examination The latter has the largest congregation.
Daniel Defoe, History of the Plague in London
I have always thought of Opus Dei in this way. They are Anti-Christ, Anti-Woman, in the most devious, shady of ways and trying to deceive as many as they possibly can. They seek power and money in the shadows while using the Catholic Church as a shield from inquiry into their actual movements. So glad they are finally being exposed in this way. Keep going!
Now look at the Trumpet; in complete violation of law. Instead of being religious as they call themselves a church, they are Fox MAGA daily on the internet and print daily in the USA! They should be investigated and prosecuted!
Sickening
Trump is a
Fucking NAZI
ENOUGH
SAID
Frank Schaeffer speaks to this too. He is also a Substack contributor, Let it be said.
Be careful of the rabbit holes
Old News
Right Wing Catholic Church' has global influence in support of Fascism...and ending democracy is in concert with Catholic members of the hierarchy and the OD cult.
For years I have been sorcing information on how this cult became a global movement. In an act of pure brilliance, PJII appointed OD as a "Papal Prelature" making it a floating diocese. Their "democracy virus" then spread to democraatic countries and aligned themselves with "States" that "elected" autocrates. Because they were under the influence of the Pope not the local or regional Bishop or Archbishop,OD functioned with impunity, setting up schools and universities there their lay groups could influence the next generation by accessing government funds. Funds flowed out of the public sector to their initiatives making peoplr in the public sector poor.
One of their motos is ,"Never use your on money..."-This is another engine of their social engineering project.
They also owned global banks, created think tanks to disrupt democracies-ie Chile with the overthrow of Pinochet. They practiced in South and Central America-and brought their movement to the highest court s in our nation. Their leader said they are not interested in the" street sweepers"-the poor and raising them up-rather their small groups of leaders is seated in all offices of legislative power globally and now in the US under the banner of "conservatism".
Benedict and Pope Francis both embrace OD because of the money and supposed male vocations they bring to the Vatican. Francis is a member of OD. Since the 80's OD has been appointed to the largest dioceses in the US and led a return to pre-Vatican clericalized power structures. This movement toward social engineering, set the country backward to a simplistic notion of how the social structures under Fascism should work-it is our version of the engine putting Fascist governments worldwide. Read Project 25
1. One MAN-one rule-under the Christian God
2. Corporations are people and rule all of society by altering the constitution "for the people"
3. Women must be married to a man and are under his influence
4. Women have no rights over their body. (34 women in prison for stillbirths in spite of having other children)
5. Use of violence, force and fear by creating laws to justify the means to achieve these goals.(COP CITY GA-New obstructionist State Board of Elections interrupting the voting process in GA so the elections cannot be certified in time)
6. The Church and State are one body and the Judicial, Legislative and Executive body fall under the same framework. (All authoritarian countries-the church becomes the same voice as the state)
7. Sexuality is divided into two genders from birth.
8. Religious schools are the gateway for restoration of this extreme form of social engineering.
9. Once the government and church are united-funds will be redistributed to schools that promote discrimination on the basis of sex, color and religion. (1 billion to private and religious schools through vouchers in Georgia). Systems that promote diversity will be faced with new laws that discriminate on the basis of their idea of who should receive funds, who should not. (Book Banning)
10. One race and religion is God given -white and Christian over all other races and religions by an order and blessing of their cwersion of a one true God.
Curiously on south America there are many crimes connected to Opus Dei, also recruited Law operators as Lawyers and Judges or even Supreme Court's member, in Brazil the vice President is known by left the Opus Dei, but few extremists right wingers connected to Bolsonaro are Opus Dei, guys maybe you all found their worldwide connections around the globe!
Genial Ben! Keep the amazing job!
Opus Dei and KKK or Neonazi may be all connected people and FBI plus CIA plus the Interpol shall caught them all and list them as TERRORISTS!