Pope’s Book Proceeds to Aid Rebuilding Efforts in Yugoslavia

With the prospects of an uneasy peace emerging in the former Yugoslav federation, Pope John Paul II will use some of the proceeds from his best-selling book, “Crossing the Threshold of Hope,” to rebuild houses of worship and institutions destroyed by a four-year war.

The disclosure by the Vatican followed a meeting Tuesday between the Pope and 23 Catholic bishops from the war-torn region who pledged to redouble efforts aimed at making amends with the Serbian Orthodox Church and Muslims in a conflict fueled by religious and ethnic differences.

The Pope stands to earn tens of millions of dollars in royalties from his 1994 book, a spiritual memoir that includes everything from recollections of his father to theological musings on Judaism, Buddhism and Islam. He has long said the proceeds would be used for charitable purposes.

The Italian publishing house Mondadori has estimated that sales will reach 20 million copies. In the United States, the book stayed on the bestseller list for 17 weeks. A spokesman for the Pope’s U.S. publisher, Alfred E. Knopf, declined to disclose sales figures.

Few solid details were disclosed about the rebuilding fund. The pontiff is expected to set the level of financing for the fund, Vatican spokesmen said, but no dollar amount was revealed.

The Catholic bishops of Yugoslavia could use some of the money to assist Orthodox and Muslim communities, the Vatican said, though the first priority would be to help rebuild Catholic churches, hospitals and other institutions.

Creation of a fund for rebuilding efforts was the most concrete pledge to come out of the meeting, which brought together 23 of the 43 bishops in the five republics. Some prelates were unable to attend because of sporadic fighting in their areas.

The bishops produced a set of commitments intended to combat rampant nationalism, improve dialogue among the various religions and increase charitable aid.