Amid increasing political turbulence, the United States continues to serve as a hotbed for conservative groups vying for significant overhaul in societal norms, policy, and legislation. Emerging from the shadows is an interesting partnership between religious guidance and political strategy. Kevin Roberts, the Heritage Foundation president, and the mastermind of “Project 2025,” an ambitious blueprint for a potential second term of former president Donald Trump, has emerged as a central figure linking the conservative landscape to the radically secretive Catholic group, Opus Dei.
Roberts’ regular visits for mass and spiritual guidance at the Catholic Information Center (CIC), an institution overseen by an Opus Dei priest, is well-documented. His presence highlights a thriving cross-section of Washington’s political and religious ideologies. Inside the walls of the CIC, Opus Dei organizes monthly retreats and provides a platform for influential figures like Roberts to express their vision.
Roberts’ advocacy for policies considered extreme by mainstream America, including outlawing birth control, has led him to forge a subtle strategy known as “radical incrementalism.” Achieving small legislative victories, Roberts believes, is crucial to attain more controversial policy objectives gradually.
This meticulous political strategy took center stage with Project 2025, a broad conservative plan backed by more than 100 conservative groups. The project encompasses a multitude of issues, among them limiting abortion access, dismantling diversity programs, and decreasing LGBTQ+ rights. Central to this conservative agenda is increased government support for alternatives to reliable contraception, like ovulation tracking and periodic abstinence.
However, Roberts’ personal and spiritual ties to the Opus Dei, a Catholic group often described as a political project cloaked in spirituality, have received far less attention. According to Gareth Gore, an author specializing in Opus Dei, the group has been successful in penetrating Washington’s political and legal elite, with key figures like Roberts and Leonard Leo conjuring significant influence.
Leo, a conservative activist with links to the CIC, has significantly contributed to the rightwing tilt of the US Supreme Court and has been a key financier of groups supporting Project 2025. Leo’s speech at the CIC, where he criticized his political opponents as being under the devil’s influence, underscored the extreme views harbored by some within these institutions.
Claiming that the US is at the precipice of a “second American Revolution,” Roberts urges his faithful to practice “radical incrementalism.” However, such political strategies sit at odds with the outright focus of others, like the fight to protect religious liberty. As he articulates in the center’s YouTube video, Roberts champions this cause as a time for strength, positioning and combat, with no room for placation or compromises.
Allegations about Roberts’ ties to the Opus Dei extend beyond his regular appearances at the CIC. He founded a school in Louisiana, known as John Paul the Great Academy, which holds Opus Dei’s founder, Saint Josemaría Escrivá, as its patron. This connection dovetails with Roberts’ involvement in high school leadership programs affiliated with Opus Dei in Austin, Texas.
Despite the controversies that Roberts’ affiliations with Opus Dei have stirred up, both in the US and around the world, they’ve done little to dampen his conservative zeal. His recipe for changing American society may be rooted in religious doctrine, but its execution is a carefully orchestrated game of politics, tantalizingly close to reaching its goals. If realized, these plans could dramatically shift the future of the American conservative movement, offering insight into how religion and politics may continue to interweave in the nation’s capital.
