Robert P. Hanssen, the FBI special agent; suspected spy, was a member of an elite religious group that works to spread the Catholic faith by recruiting members active in the upper echelons of government & business.
"They are trying to get people in their vocation to change the world. They believe that if you convert the king, you convert the country," says the Rev. Franklyn AcAfee of the organization, called Opus Dei.
As the pastor of St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Great Falls, Father McAfee has known the Hanssens, who lived in Vienna, Va., since they first come to the more-traditional Catholic Church in 1988.
But Mr. Hanssen gave paltry donations to Opus Dei during the time he is suspected of working for Moscow for 1.4 million in cash & diamonds.
Between 1988 and 1992, the FBI agent donated $2,690 to the Woodlawn Foundation, founded in 1978 to fund Opus Dei activities which in the last fiscal year had an income of 17 million.
"I'm very, very relieved that no money like that came to us," said John Haley, president of the foundation, which is named after the first center of Opus Dei activity- opened in Chicago in 1949- in the United States.
"If he gave any contributions they would have showed up here," said Mr. Haley. "He's not contributing to the Reston Study Center, because we're helping fund that."
A Justice Department official said determining what Mr. Hanssen did with the money is not a department priority.
"Overall, I don't know how useful if would be in the context of determining the damage assessment" to national security, said the official, speaking on the conditions of anonymity.
Opus Dei, with around 3,000 members in the United States & 84,000 worldwide, was called a "floating diocese" or a "personal prelate" that falls under the direct purview of the pope by Linda Shovlain, the communications director for the Arlington Diocese.
Other high profile figures who attend St Catherine's traditional Mass include Sen. Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania Republican, & Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. FBI Director Louis J Freeh also attends the church Father McAfee said.
Father McAfee said a good number of Opus Dei members in the area attend his church because it is more conservative & sticks closer to the original Catholic teachings.
Despite the church's popularity with the group, Russell Shaw, a Washington member for 21 year, said Justice Scalia & Mr. Santorum "are not members," adding for emphasis: "and you can quote me."
In 1997, a British newspaper, the Guardian, mentioned Mr. Freeh's brother, John, being a former member of the organization.
When asked if he also was a member, the FBI director declined to respond having FBI Special Agent John E. Collingwood reply instead.
"While I cannot answer your questions, I do note that you have been "informed" incorrectly," Mr. Collingwood told the paper.
The larger organization, which is favored by Pope John Paul II, has been criticized as "a clandestine group" seeking to influence policy through members in high positions.
Father McAfee disputes that. He said neither Mr. Hanssen's affiliation with the group, nor his membership in the Roman Catholic Church had anything to do with his suspected spying. Learning of his parishioner's secret life was quite a shock, he said.
"It would surprise you because you wouldn't think a devout family, at least she was devout… would be leading a double life," Father McAfee said.
Opus Dei yesterday stated "shock, surprise & sadness that a fairly prominent member has been accused of potentially capital crimes.
"If the accusations are true, these actions represent a tremendous violation of a person's obligation as a Christian & a citizen," said Brian Finnerty, spokesman for the organizations at its central office in New York.
While Opus Dei members are expected to support the parish they attend, Father McAfee said the Hanssen family never did.
"You don't have to pay a fee to go here," Father McAfee said. [Mr. Hanssen] "didn't support the parish. I can safely say he didn't donate."
Mr. Hanssen, a 26-year FBI agent specializing in catching foreign spies in the United States, is charged with two counts of espionage. U.S. prosecutors say he collected the cash & diamonds for spy work that spanned 15 years.
"I have a hunch he was saving for retirement," Father McAfee said.
Unlike other members of Opus Dei that came to Father McAfee's church, which offers Sunday Masses in the traditional Latin, Mr. Hanssen was described as arrogant & not kind like other members of a group that sees themselves as spreading the Gospel of Christ.
Father McAfee said he has a "foggy memory" of Mr. Hanssen, 56, and fondly recalls his wife, Bonnie, as being active in the church, organizing religious classes for women.
A neighbor of Mr. Hanssen, who asked not to be identified, said the one-time Chicago police officer was pious & scolded neighborhood children who used words like "damn."
His children, including his youngest son who was an altar boy at St. Catharine's, went to the Height School in Potomac & the Oakcrest School in Mclean. Both schools are supported by Opus Dei.
The small school's $8,000 to $10,000 tuition is quite high, according to Father McAfee, especially considering only a few hundred students attend each school.
Father McAfee allowed the Hanssens to attend the church, he said, because he thought they would feel more comfortable. The Arlington Diocese typically requires a "letter of release" from a church or person or family is assigned by geographical boundaries.
Mr. Hanssen first went to Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna, but had not seen a member of the church since 1988, just before going to St. Catherine's.