THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 4, 1994 TAG: 9412050226
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY BRINKLEY CRAFT GORANSON
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
If you could ask the pope one question, what would it be? Italian journalist Vittorio Messori formulated a list of bold, detailed questions, hoping to have a televised interview with His Holiness John Paul II. The meeting never took place because of the pope's busy schedule, but the pontiff was so impressed with the questions that during his free time he wrote responses to them that resulted in this book.
Crossing the Threshold of Hope is being published in all the world's major languages. Unfortunately, the English-language version is guilty of linguistic sexism because of its inherent bias toward the masculine gender. The pope writes, for example: ``Not only abortion, but also contraception, are ultimately bound up with the truth about man.'' It seems to me that some of God's children are left out in this sentence.
The pope makes no effort toward inclusive language. In fact, a discussion on the role of women per se receives a scant two pages in which the pope denounces contemporary feminism as an absence of true respect for women and advocates a return to the figure of Mary for creative inspiration.
John Paul II is in his 16th year as Holy Father, Vicar of Christ, Supreme Pontiff. He writes that he plans to mark the year 2000 by owning up to church errors and to the sins of Roman Catholics and that he is moving toward the unity for which Christ prayed on the eve of His Passion.
If we can appreciate this, certainly we might look to the future with optimism. Millions of Americans are searching for some clearer understanding of the core principles of religion and how they can be applied to the daily experience of living as well as to humanity's common destiny. The pope's message is ``Be not afraid,'' words frequently spoken by Jesus to give assurance to his followers. Be not afraid of the truth about ourselves.
If you are curious about why God allows so many religions to exist, get the book and read the pope's excellent commentary. Certainly he claims Christ as the one mediator between God and humanity, but he also writes, ``Christian revelation has viewed the spiritual history of man as including, in some ways, all religions.''
He especially admires the religiosity of Muslims in their fidelity to prayer. When the interviewer points out that by 2000 Muslims will outnumber Catholics for the first time, the pope replies that statistics are not useful when speaking of values that are not quantifiable.
Despite some cracks of theological difference for non-Catholics, and especially for me, an ordained Protestant woman, the pope is to be regarded not only as a brilliant thinker but as a true witness of Christ and minister of the Gospel who leads his followers across a threshold of faith as well as hope. It is no surprise that his book very quickly claimed first place on the nonfiction best-seller list. MEMO: Brinkley Craft Goranson is a retired Lutheran pastor who lives in
Virginia Beach. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Pope John Paul II
by CNB