The Vatican and Opus Sanctorum Angelorum

William Adolphe Bouguereau  (November 30, 1825 – August 19, 1905)

Le Printemps (The Return of Spring)

Gabriele Bitterlich created Opus Sanctorum Angelorum (Work of the Holy Angels) which was not approved of by the Vatican. Now, the Vatican has approved of the group. Why the official pronouncement now? It's possible the Vatican's views on ET (that ET exists, and that's okay) coincide with this recent announcement. Opus Sanctorum Angelorum believes in "spiritual warfare...between angels and demons." We can make an exchange: aliens for angels/demons. From the article Controversial angels’ order given Vatican OK:

Opus Sanctorum Angelorum (Work of the Holy Angels) was founded by Gabriele Bitterlich, an Austrian woman who claimed to have received visions of the angels, including their names and their functions in Heaven.

The Vatican began investigating the movement shortly after her death in 1978, when certain followers, including priests and nuns, began circulating sensational theories of “spiritual warfare” between angels and demons based on her visions.

Since 1992, the group has been under the authority of a Vatican appointed overseer, Dominican Father Benoit Duroux, who handed over his responsibilities to his fellow Dominican Fr. Daniel Ols in March 2010.

Something happened that caused Opus Angelorum to morph into something the Vatican could approve of, "obedience" being one cause for the Vatican's acceptance of the group:

Today, thanks to the obedience of its members, the Opus Angelorum can be considered to be living loyally and serenely in conformity with the doctrine of the Church and with canonical and liturgical law,” the Vatican said.

“Therefore, in its present state, the Opus Angelorum is a public association of the Church in conformity with traditional doctrine and with the directives of the Holy See.”

All is not rosy; there are still maverick believers out there who are seen as defying the church. In other words, they are not "obedient" --- meaning, these renegade followers of Opus Angelorum still follow the original teachings of the founder, Gabriele Bitterlich, and not the Vatican's version. As with Marian apparitions, which rarely get Vatican approval, the visions and prophecies of a (female) member of the church are rejected as heretical. The issue of Catholics practicing Opus Angelorum as originally intended is referred to as a "situation" by the Vatican, one that must be carefully monitored:

One Vatican official with close knowledge of the situation, told CNA that problems remain with some ex-members of the Opus Angelorum, including some ex-priests, who follow the original controversial practices of Bitterlich.

The official, who requested that his name not be used, said the Vatican is concerned that these ex-members may attempt to “deceive” Catholics into engaging in practices that the Vatican has prohibited, including referring to the angels by the names allegedly revealed to Bitterlich, and receiving Communion multiple times in one day.

In its letter, the Vatican warned bishops of “very discrete propaganda in favor of this wayward movement, which is outside of any ecclesiastical control, is taking place, aimed at presenting it as if it were in full communion with the Catholic Church.” Bishops, the Vatican said, must remain “vigilant” and “forbid” these activities.

Reverence, not worship, and Vatican authority and control, not personal direct communication between mortal and divinity.

Communitas and liminality is to only occur within the confines of church doctrine, and unto the Vatican. Personal, smaller, intimate occurrences of these two states are not divine or holy, not recognized by the Vatican, and are actively discouraged, as history has shown repeatedly with cases of Marian apparitions and other supernatural events within the Catholic construct. Personal mystical experience vs. church/doctrine/Vatican.