43 alleged trafficking victims of Opus Dei in Argentina urge courts to expedite case

Forty-three victims of Opus Dei in Argentina called on the justice system on Tuesday to accelerate proceedings to convict those responsible for human trafficking and servitude committed from the 1970s to the present—a case that implicates the head of the Catholic organization.

Victims, journalists, and lawyers participated in Buenos Aires in the first international summit of Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), where they presented details of the only human trafficking case for servitude in the history of the Catholic Church, and more specifically of the Opus Dei. 

"What we are asking the Argentine justice system is to accelerate the process," Sebastian Sal, the plaintiff's lawyer, told Reuters. 

The case was initiated in 2021 by 43 women who said they were deceived and exploited by Opus Dei as unpaid servants in conditions of semi-confinement since they were teenagers in Argentina.

The case could grow as six more women plan to testify about crimes that carry sentences of up to 15 years in prison.

Sal said his goal is for the guilty to be convicted and for victims to receive compensation. He reported that about 10 auxiliary numeraries over age 60 remain in Opus Dei centers in Argentina, many of them ill and living under the same regime.

During the conference, victims from Argentina and countries including Spain, Guatemala, Ireland, Chile and El Salvador gave testimony with strikingly similar accounts.

All said they were girls or teenagers from poor families with little education when recruited, promised schooling that proved nearly nonexistent with unrecognized diplomas. Upon arrival, they were made to perform domestic tasks for over 12 hours daily without pay or vacation, deprived of outside contact.

"I come from a large, poor family and there was no possibility of studying for me, and they just showed up and it seemed perfect," said Tita, a Paraguayan woman recruited at age 15 and taken to Argentina, speaking at the conference.

The victims hope the Vatican will take action and are optimistic that Pope Leo XIV may deepen the approach initiated by his predecessor, Pope Francis.

-Miguel Lo Bianco, Claudia Martini, Liamar Ramos/Reuters