c. 2005 Religion News Service

(RNS) John Paul II’s 27-year tenure is studded with firsts: the first pope to enter a mosque, the first to visit Rome’s main synagogue, the first to emphasize his personal past as a foundation for his present vision, and the first to not only utilize but fully embrace popular books as a tool for evangelization.

The pope’s fifth book, “Memory and Identity,” was released Tuesday (March 22) in the United States, further cementing his legacy as an author.

“He thinks that all media should be used in the cause of spreading the Gospel,” said Robert George, professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University. “And for him the Gospel is not the narrowly conceived four books (in the Bible). It’s the whole Christian message, including moral dimensions.”

Exploring the roots of the “ideologies of evil” that took shape in 20th-century Nazism and communism, the pope warns in his new book of a still-pervasive evil in contemporary society, which he says often rejects God in favor of unlimited democratic freedoms. For the pope, that results in an abdication of ethical responsibilities and religious values, leading to “violations of God’s law” such as abortion and homosexual marriage.

While the pronouncements are neither new nor unexpected, the book, based on conversations recorded in 1993 between the pope and two Polish philosophers, represents a coherent compendium of John Paul’s thinking on topics close to his heart.

“To us it’s very important; it’s a great honor,” said Marco Ausenda, president of Rizzoli USA, which is publishing the book in the United States in English and Spanish with a combined first print run of 135,000 copies.

Rizzoli USA’s parent company in Italy, RCS Libri, obtained the worldwide rights from the Vatican for an undisclosed sum, and released the book in Italy Feb. 23.

“This book is moral, political and philosophical. It’s about the major controversial points of the 20th century. It is his testament,” said Ausenda.

Placing “Memory and Identity,” which will be issued in 14 editions in 11 languages, on the shelves at Barnes & Noble and other mass market bookstores gives the pope an opportunity to target a wide readership, crucial for his goal of reaching as many people as possible with his message. The book has already topped the Italian bestseller list, with more than 400,000 copies sold. All royalties will be donated to charity.

Writing books for a general audience also frees John Paul from the language and format constraints of official teachings.

“Books are a way for him to leave a personal legacy that’s not locked into a juridical form. He’s not stuck with the genre of an encyclical,” said Sally Vance-Trembath, assistant professor of systematic theology at the University of San Francisco.

Since his 1978 election, the prolific John Paul has written 14 encyclicals and 10 apostolic constitutions, as well as countless letters, homilies and messages _ all part of the Catholic Church’s doctrinal teaching. But with 1994’s “Crossing the Threshold of Hope,” he broke from the dense theological treatises expected of popes to pen a popular book.

It sold 20 million copies worldwide.

“It was a huge deal. He’s unique as an author because of the place he occupies in the world,” said Paul Bogaards, executive director of publicity for Knopf, which published the American edition of the pope’s first book. “I think people were ready to accept moral and intellectual challenges.”

Challenge people he did, by answering pointed questions posed in the book by an Italian journalist, such as: What is the use of believing? What is salvation? Why does God tolerate suffering?

His books have offered rare glimpses at the man behind the vestments, from passages on his family to his deep spiritual connection to Poland, grounding John Paul II firmly in the personhood of Karol Wojtyla. In 1996’s “Gift and Mystery,” he explained that he was forced to prepare for the priesthood in secret, out of sight of the Nazi authorities.

Later, as a bishop, he fought for religious freedom under the Communist regime, as detailed in 2004’s “Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way.” In 2003, he even wrote a slim volume of poetry.

John Paul “has an acute awareness of his own self as part of his mission in the church,” said the Rev. Robert Gahl, adjunct professor of ethics at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. “He is fully dedicated to being pope but he is also dedicated to being Karol Wojtyla, and that is extraordinary.”

Until this papacy, popes have generally cast aside personality to take up the mantle of universality, issuing documents that give little hint of how their individual pasts have shaped them. John Paul instead has indicated his favorite theological and philosophical sources through his books, lending insight into his official teachings.

“These writings make clear how influential his Polish experience, culture, piety and academic philosophy have been on his thinking,” said Thomas Groome, professor of religious education at Boston College and author of “What Makes Us Catholic?”

“I think these are the reflections of Karol Wojtyla more than the official teachings of John Paul II as the pontiff of the universal Catholic Church,” Groome said. “The question that gets raised, then, is can that personal experience be a source of universal teaching for a universal church?”

Princeton’s George looked at it from the pope’s perspective.

“He’s interested in his own experience of Poland not because it shapes his views,” said George. “The idea here is that any attempt to approach universally the broader social and philosophical questions he thinks are so important has got to be illuminated by some concrete, specific experiences _ and the one the pope knows is Poland in general, and his own experience as a Pole in particular.”

MO/RB RNS END