Publishing Information

Crossing the Threshold of Hope was written in 1994 by Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

. It was published originally in Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore is the biggest publishing company in Italy.-History:Founded by the 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori in 1907 to publish the magazine titled Luce!, it soon became an important publisher. Its headquarters are in Milan....

 and in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 by Alfrede A. Knopf, Inc. It is distributed by Random House, Inc., New York. By 1998, Crossing the Threshold of Hope had sold several million copies and was published in forty languages, and over one million copies were sold in Italy alone.

Origin

The contents presented in Crossing the Threshold of Hope were originally intended to be broadcasted as a live television interview with Vittorio Messori

Vittorio Messori

Vittorio Messori is an Italian journalist and writer. According to Sandro Magister, a Vaticanist, he is the "most translated Catholic writer in the world."-Life:...

, an Italian journalist and writer. The interview was to celebrate fifteen years of his papacy. When John Paul II had to cancel the interview at the last minute, he still wanted to answer Messori’s questions and told him: “You have asked me questions, therefore you have a right to responses. ... I am working on them. I will let you have them. Then do with them what you think is appropriate”.

At the end of April 1994, Messori received a package from the Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

: The pope had answered every question. John Paul II expressed his confidence in Messori by permitting him to do whatever he saw fit with the contents of the folder. He only wrote “Crossing the Threshold of Hope” on the inside front cover of the folder as a suggestion for a possible title.

As Messori began compiling the questions, he saw that additional questions as follow-up would be helpful. Additional questions were composed and sent. When the follow-up questions returned from the Vatican, Messori found that the pope had again answered every question.

Contents

The text of the book is presented exactly as written by John Paul II. Points that the pope underlined in his original manuscript

Manuscript

A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...

 are italicized in the published text. Paragraph breaks remain consistent with John Paul II’s writing.

Messori doesn’t ask private questions, but the questions he does ask allow the reader to see the personal life of the pope. For example, the very first question in Crossing the Threshold of Hope asks whether the pope ever doubts his relationship with God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

, especially given the importance of his role in the Catholic Church. The pope’s answer grounds itself in Scripture: “Be not afraid!” (Luke 1:30). These words echoed through John Paul II’s papacy, and they continue to echo in this writing.

Messori continues to ask questions throughout the book that people throughout the world have wondered: “How do you pray?” “Does God really exist?” “Is there really hope in the young?” “Does eternal life exist?” “What does it mean to be saved?” The pope does not answer questions that only pertain to Catholicism

Catholicism

Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

. Messori asks questions about Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

, Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

, Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

, and monotheistic

Monotheism

Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...

 religions in general. John Paul II’s answers to these questions reflect his great love for all people and his knowledge of these religions: he speaks several times of individuals he has met who belong to these religions, sometimes calling them by name. He also says vehemently that “the Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions”.

Messori’s questions in the latter portion of the book refer to various tenets of the Catholic faith, including whether the Catholic Church really has the fullness of truth, and whether or not heaven

Heaven

Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...

 exists. Many people ask these questions, and the pope’s answers to these questions can be found here.

Some readers may find Messori frustrating at times, as his writing can be gushing and formal. He says things like, “Pardon me, Your Holiness, but my role (which gives me great honor but also a certain responsibility) is also that of a respectful “provocateur” with regard to questions...”.

Topics of the book include: “The Pope: A Scandal and a Mystery,” “How does the Pope Pray?” “Does God Really Exist?” “Proof: Is it Still Valid?” “If God Exists, Why is He Hiding?” “Is Jesus the Son of God?” “Why Is There So Much Evil in the World?” “What Does To Save Mean?” “Why So Many Religions?” “Buddha?” “Muhammad?” “Judaism?” “What Is the New Evangelization?” “Is There Really Hope in the Young?” “Was God at Work in the Fall of Communism?” “Is Only Rome Right?” “In Search of Lost Unity,” “A Qualitative Renewal,” “The Reaction of the World,” “Does Eternal Life Exist?” “Human Rights,” “The Mother of God,” and “Be Not Afraid.”

The pope answers questions directly, and he also provides a context and history as background. He reflects on Descartes’ philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 of “I think, therefore I am,” while referencing Kant

KANT

KANT is a computer algebra system for mathematicians interested in algebraic number theory, performing sophisticated computations in algebraic number fields, in global function fields, and in local fields. KASH is the associated command line interface...

, Hegel, Husserl, Heidegger, Aristotle

Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...

, and Plato

Plato

Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...

 when defining the history of European

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 thought.

Although the pope writes to a world-wide audience, he also speaks specifically of the Catholic faith, including references not only to the Sacred Scriptures, but also many saints: Augustine’s City of God, John of the Cross

John of the Cross

John of the Cross , born Juan de Yepes Álvarez, was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest, born at Fontiveros, Old Castile....

 and his Ascent of Mount Carmel

Ascent of Mount Carmel

Ascent of Mount Carmel is a 16th-century spiritual treatise by Spanish Catholic mystic and poet St John of the Cross. The book is a systematic treatment of the ascetical life in pursuit of mystical union with Christ, giving advice and reporting on his own experience...

, Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...

 and the Summa Theologica

Summa Theologica

The Summa Theologiæ is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas , and although unfinished, "one of the classics of the history of philosophy and one of the most influential works of Western literature." It is intended as a manual for beginners in theology and a compendium of all of the main...

, and many more.

Criticism and Praise

Reception of this work of John Paul II range from “With the humility and generosity of spirit for which he is well known, John Paul speaks forthrightly to all people” to “the Pope emerges as the master of the flat statement, the bland certainty. Metaphor, anecdotes, humour, imagination rarely trouble his style; he prefers the long pedantic plod through Aristotle and Plato, St Paul, Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, Pascal, Kant, Hegel, Husserl and Heidegger”

Crossing the Threshold of Hope has been cited by many, including Scott Hahn

Scott Hahn

Scott Hahn is a contemporary author, theologian, and Catholic apologist. His works include Rome Sweet Home and The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth. He currently teaches at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, a Catholic university in the United States.-Education:Hahn received his...

 (Lord, Have Mercy: The Healing Power of Confession), Eugene Mario DeRobertis (Phenomenological Psychology: A Text for Beginners), Harold C Raley (A Watch Over Mortality: The Philosophical Story of Julian Marias), R Baschetti (Evolutionary, Biological Origins of Mortality: Implications for Research with Human Embryonic Stem Cells), Anthony Scioli (Hope in the Age of Anxiety), John Berkman (The Consumption of Animals and the Catholic Tradition), and Christopher Jamison

Christopher Jamison

Christopher Jamison OSB is a Benedictine monk and former Abbot of Worth Abbey in West Sussex, England. He became well-known through the BBC TV series The Monastery.-Early life:...

(Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life) and more.The British satirical magazine Private Eye published a blisteringly hostile review of the work, but making similar criticisms to others, and feeling that as the Pope simply cites the Church's extant official statements in his replies, catechism-style, the work is a quite pointless exercise.