A group of Argentine women who worked as “numerary assistants” in the Opus Dei prelature have complained to the Vatican about mistreatment, saying that they were obliged to work under “manifestly illegal conditions.”

The 43 women say that they were given false hopes that they would obtain higher education, asked to work long hours without pay, and not registered in Argentina’s national pension system. But their complaints have evidently not prompted a response from Argentine civil authorities.

Opus Dei leaders in Argentina have set up a commission to hear the women’s complaints and respond to them.