CultNEWS101 Newsletter: 7/17/2026
Patrick Ryan
New DocuseriesHBO Max premieres its documentary series THE GOOD SPIRIT: BEHIND THE DOOR OF OPUS DEI this fall
HBO Max today announced the fall premiere of its new original documentary series THE GOOD SPIRIT: BEHIND THE DOOR OF OPUS DEI, produced by THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO for HBO Max in Spain, created and directed by Mònica Terribas.
Following the media and social impact of the documentary series THE HEROIC MINUTE, I TOO LEFT OPUS DEI, which was awarded the 2025 Ondas prize - which addressed the labor, spiritual and psychological abuse to which, according to the testimonies of thirteen women, they are subjected within the institution - many men who had left Opus Dei also needed to explain the role they had played within the Work.
According to their own accounts, they were recruited from childhood and destined to become numeraries or priests of Opus Dei. The series analyzes their descriptions of psychological control, recruitment practices, and oppression, as well as their accounts of the alleged underlying dynamics of power, money, influence, and control.
THE GOOD SPIRIT: BEHIND THE DOOR OF OPUS DEI features the testimonies of 14 men of all ages from eleven different countries, who recount their personal experiences within the reality of Opus Dei: Spain, Italy, France, Poland, Germany, England, and across the Atlantic in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, the United States, and Argentina. Many of them held positions of responsibility as directors, secretaries, and members of Local Councils within their centers, as well as officers of Regional Commissions. Others were called to support the institution from the highest levels of their professional careers to expand Opus Dei. Some, as numeraries, associates, or priests, were sent as teenagers to countries from which they never returned.
Their shared experiences shed light on the functioning of the Work, its economic dynamics and influence, through the Regional Commissions, the Local Councils, the educational, university, and research centers, as well as the dynamics of spiritual direction and precepting among adolescents and young university students.
“The men within Opus Dei command, maneuver, administer, mortify themselves, sacrifice themselves, and, like the women, they also break down. It is heartening to hear them speak on behalf of the many who do not yet dare to stand before the camera and who have been part of the research for this series,” declared Mònica Terribas Sala, screenwriter and director of THE GOOD SPIRIT: BEHIND THE DOOR OF OPUS DEI.
To contextualize the protagonists' testimonies, the documentary features the voices of experts, such as Santiago Bueno Salinas, professor of canon law, also judicial vicar and president of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Barcelona; María Esther Fernández Mostaza, professor of sociology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and author of the book Els fills de l'Opus; Dr. Vega González, clinical psychologist and managing director of Care and Research in Social Addictions (AIS); Gareth Gore, investigative journalist and author of Opus; and Rebecca Griffin, director of The Deep Dive Project.
The series features reenactments of the protagonists' stories, performed by actors Joel Bosqued and Guillem Balart and directed by Pere Sala.
THE GOOD SPIRIT: BEHIND THE DOOR OF OPUS DEI is an HBO Max original documentary series in Spain produced by THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO. Mònica Terribas, Bernat Elías, and Amparo Castellano are the executive producers for THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO. Bibiana González is the Director of Non-Fiction Content for HBO Max. María Rubio and Zaida Serrano-Piedecasas serve as executive producers for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Legislative & LegalPunch Up: Leading Scholars Slam Jailing of Orgasm Guru Using Junk Science
Twenty global scholars of religion and human rights signed a memorandum condemning the forced labor conspiracy convictions of OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone and sales chief Rachel Cherwitz. Published via the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), the memo claims the case reintroduces a "brainwashing" theory as psychological coercion under trafficking laws, threatening religious liberty. Furthermore, a watchdog report alleges FBI collusion with a Netflix documentary crew, and prosecutors admitted their star witness's diaries were faked. Attorney Alan Dershowitz plans to seek a presidential pardon for both women.
Here is a summary of the article's main arguments regarding the Cherwitz case and its broader legal implications:
The article When Persuasion Becomes a Crime examines the constitutional stakes of the upcoming Second Circuit appeal in United States v. Cherwitz. Following the forced labor conspiracy convictions of OneTaste executives Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz, the author argues the government's novel prosecutorial theory dangerously criminalizes psychological persuasion, raising severe First Amendment and void-for-vagueness concerns.
The Evolution of the TVPA
At the heart of the critique is the application of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Originally enacted in 2000 to target severe commercial trafficking involving physical compulsion or legal coercion, a 2008 amendment expanded the definition of "serious harm" to include psychological pressure. In Cherwitz, prosecutors argued the defendants coerced victims by threatening the loss of their belief system, community, and relationships. The author contends that this applies the statute to consenting adults in a voluntary wellness organization—a drastic departure from the TVPA's legislative intent and one that lacks any objective limiting principle.
The "Victim-Centered Approach"
The article traces this strategy to the institutionalization of the "Victim-Centered Approach" (VCA) across federal law enforcement over the last 15 years. Under the VCA doctrine, an individual's ongoing consent or voluntary participation is irrelevant. If a witness claims they loved an organization and were happy, prosecutors and judges are trained to view this not as autonomy, but as evidence of "brainwashing" and total psychological control. Because of this framework, the government explicitly told the Cherwitz jury that whether the victims actually suffered physical harm was not the question of the trial.
The Core Constitutional Question
Ultimately, the article frames the Second Circuit's impending review as a foundational test of American legal boundaries. Because all nine alleged victims in Cherwitz eventually left the organization voluntarily and without physical restraint, the appellate court must decide if the state can legally equate the persuasive power of ideas with criminal forced labor.
Courthouse News Service: Former Epoch Times executive pleads guilty to multimillion-dollar fraud scheme that funded newspaper
Weidong "Bill" Guan, the former Chief Financial Officer of The Epoch Times, has pleaded guilty to a charge of roughly $ 15 million to $62 million. Guan, who reached a plea agreement just as jury selection for his trial was underway, acknowledged that he had ignored multiple red flags and warnings from banks about the operation's legality.
The Epoch Times distanced itself from the litigation, noting that Guan was suspended upon his 2024 arrest and maintaining that the charges were unrelated to their journalism.
Guan faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and, as a non-U.S. citizen, potential deportation. His co-defendant, Le Van Hung, previously pleaded guilty to identity theft.
AI Research Disclosure: To bring you the most relevant stories, parts of this newsletter utilize artificial intelligence (AI) tools to search the web, source articles, and assist with content curation. This content is for informational purposes only; we recommend verifying critical facts independently.
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