Vittorio Messori
Encyclopedia
Sandro Magister
Sandro Magister is an Italian journalist who writes for the magazine "L'espresso". He specializes in religious news, in particular on the Catholic Church and the Vatican...
, a Vaticanist
Vaticanologist
Vaticanologist or Vaticanist is a term coined in the mid-to-late twentieth century to describe journalists, academics and commentators whose area of expertise is in studying and understanding the manner by which the Holy See and the Roman Catholic Church operates...
, he is the "most translated Catholic writer in the world."
Life
Messori was born in SassuoloSassuolo
Sassuolo is an important industrial centre of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The town stands on the right bank of the river Secchia some 17 km south-west of Modena.-History :...
near Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He attended the prestigious Lycée D'Azeglio in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
. Later, he graduated in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
s, with a thesis on the Risorgimento.
Messori had a completely secular upbringing. He was warned against priests by his mother, who often said that the Church was "only a pub." The schools he attended imparted an equally secular culture, and when he enrolled in the faculty of political science at Turin, all the teachers there taught "a radical, impenetrable agnosticism
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
." He was "happy" with this, and "was preparing for a career as an entirely secular intellectual."
In July and August 1964, however, he unexpectedly entered a new kind of dimension. In his own words, "the truth of the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
, that until then was unknown to me, became very clear and tangible. Even though I had never attended Church, even though I had never studied religion, I found that my perspective as a secularist and agnostic had become suddenly Christian. What's more, Catholic."
Messori's teachers were "very surprised and disappointed" when he confessed that he had become a Catholic. They regarded his conversion as "a psychiatric crisis, a depression, a mistake," with the result that, as Messori says, "they abandoned me and finally disowned me."
After graduating, Messori attended courses at the Institute of Christology
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
at Assisi
Assisi
- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
. It was there that he met his future wife, Rosanna Brichetti. In 1968 he returned to Turin, where he joined the editorial staff of a large publishing house. Later he directed its press office. For several years, he was a reporter for Stampa Sera, before the editor of La Stampa
La Stampa
La Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
appointed him one of the group of three journalists who created the weekly Tuttolibri.
He is a profound explorer of the questions raised by Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and especially 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....
. His most influential books include Jesus Hypotheses (1977), The Ratzinger Report (1987), and Opus Dei (1996). He also conducted the first book-length interview with 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 ...
, published under the pope's authorship with the title Crossing the Threshold of Hope
Crossing the Threshold of Hope
-Publishing Information:Crossing the Threshold of Hope was written in 1994 by Pope John Paul II. It was published originally in Italian by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore and in English by Alfrede A. Knopf, Inc. It is distributed by Random House, Inc., New York...
(1994).
Books translated into English
- Jesus Hypotheses (1978)
- The Ratzinger Report: An Exclusive Interview on the State of the Church (editor) (1985)
- Faith's Answer: The Mystery of Jesus (1986)
- Crossing the Threshold of Hope, by His Holiness John Paul II (editor) (1994)
- Opus Dei: Leadership and Vision in Today's Church (1997)
External links
- Home page of Vittorio Messori - in ItalianItalian languageItalian 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...
. - http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=49259Vittorio Messori review of Mel GibsonMel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
's "The Passion of the ChristThe Passion of the ChristThe Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
"] - Interview with Messori about anti-catholic provocations (pdf), in Il GiornaleIl Giornaleil Giornale is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan, Italy.-History:The newspaper was planned in 1972 by the journalist Indro Montanelli, together with the colleague Enzo Bettiza, after some disagreements with the new pro-left editorial line adopted by the newspaper Corriere della Sera,...
, June 23, 2007