By Henry Samuel
The Telegraph
September 23, 2011
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8782610/French-woman-sues-Opus-Dei-for-enslavement.html
 |
A French woman is suing two followers of Opus Dei for enslavement, saying she was trapped for a decade working without pay at a school with ties to the powerful conservative Roman Catholic group.
Catherine Tissier said that, from the age of 14 until 27, she was forced to clean, wash and serve from 7am to 10pm, including weekends, with no holidays or proper pay in establishments run by Opus Dei. She said she was forced to take vows of obedience, poverty and chastity and was cut off from the outside world.
Now 40, she began a court action yesterday on charges of "concealed work" and "payment contrary to dignity".
Defence lawyers insisted that the trial, believed to be the first of its kind in Europe, was a simple labour dispute, but lawyers for Miss Tissier alleged that the enigmatic group's practices were physically and psychologically damaging to their client.
Opus Dei is a Catholic organisation that believes ordinary life is the path to holiness. It looms large in the Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown's best–seller, where it is depicted as a ruthless, even murderous sect bent on global power. It is a portrayal that the group, which in Latin means "Work of God", categorically rejects.
In 1985, Miss Tissier joined the Dosnon hotel school in eastern France and the adjoining Couvrelles chateau international meeting centre.
Officially, the school and centre are run by Acut, the University and Technical Culture Association. Miss Tissier alleges that she discovered their link to Opus Dei only at the end of her first year.
One of the accused, Francis Baer, Acut's treasurer, yesterday acknowledged a link between his association and Opus Dei, but said it was limited to pastoral activities.
Miss Tissier alleged that its influence went far deeper. Chaperoned by what she calls a "spiritual director", she said she became a "numerary assistant" for the group.
"I wasn't allowed to tell my parents [I was in Opus Dei]," she said. "They had become the devil. When they tried to contact me, they were told, 'Your daughter is ours, she doesn't belong to you any more, you can see her once a year.'" She said she was sent to see a doctor, whom she said was an Opus Dei follower and who told her she was depressed and put her on heavy medication. At the age of 29, she weighed little more than 6st.
She alleged that she was given high doses of an anti–psychotic drug. She said her parents rescued her from the organisation in January 2001 and claimed that it took her two and half years to recover.
During her time at the institution, she said she received monthly wages, but was asked to sign blank cheques by her employers, who took the money back.
"At the end of 15 years, I had €10 in my account," she said, standing frail and stooped in a grey cardigan.
Agnes Duhail, the secretary of the chateau and the other accused, said Miss Tissier "always did what she wanted. If she wanted to sign a blank cheque, she did it."
Miss Tissier's claims were supported by four witnesses. "I feel guilty for having been exploited for several years," said one woman who claimed to have been forced to wash floors every day for no pay. "The aim of Opus Dei was to be sanctified through work. We were pawns. We never had time for ourselves."
Mr Baer said the meetings centre had passed a number of inspections.
Miss Tissier first filed a lawsuit in 2001, accusing Opus Dei of "mental manipulation".
The charges were later dismissed.
The trial continues.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.