From a Catholic friend:

I would highly recommend reading John Allen’s book on Opus Dei. Nothing will ever beat it. It’s as balanced as you can get. Not where I’m headed, but hey, these are good guys and they don’t deserve the beat up. I reckon the Times writer is right: they’re not the local Rotary Chairmen, but just because they like to keep to themselves and have a couple of “tics” hardly makes them sinister. In many ways they are very “protestant” — ie. they are anti the idea that you have to enter a special religious order to follow a life of holiness. You are called to be holy in daily life. That’s why they don’t advertise themselves as anything other than Catholics doing their faith in daily life.