{"title":"John Thavis","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"vatican-diaries-book-john-thavis-9780241967416","title":"The Vatican Diaries","description":"The Vatican Diaries is an inside look at one of the world's most powerful and mysterious institutions, by John Thavis.  'A humane and realistic and (yes) humorous picture of a mortal institution. To an old Prot like me, it's a tour of alien terrain and a bridge to old and dear friends' Garrison Keillor  For thirty years John Thavis worked for the Catholic News Service in Rome and reported on the inner workings of the Vatican. The Vatican Diaries is his insightful and often very funny account of exactly what goes on in this unique and secretive institution. It's a place where cardinals fight private wars, scandals are constantly threatening to undermine papal authority, and reverence for the past comes up painfully against the considerations of modern life.   He describes the politics surrounding the election of a new pope and the beatification of an old one, the angst of dealing with the international issue of sexual abuse, the intricacies of arranging a Papal visit to India, the conflicts involved in trying to build a car park over an ancient Roman burial site - and above all the unfathomable personality of the conservative Pope Benedict XVI, the first pope to resign for 600 years. At this extraordinary moment of crisis in the Church, Thavis's account of its inner workings is invaluable.  'One closes John Thavis' perceptive study reflecting on the Vatican's challenge: to persist in a secularizing world sometimes fascinated by the pomp and pageantry of St. Peter's-but often hostile or increasingly indifferent to the Church's determined mission to harmonize warring factions and bickering enemies, even if both are on the same Catholic side' New York Journal of Books  John Thavis recently retired as the prizewinning chief of the Rome bureau of Catholic News Service, where he had covered the Vatican since 1983. He is the past president of the International Association of Journalists Accredited to the Vatican, and in 2007 the Catholic Press Association awarded him the Saint Francis de Sales Award, the highest honour given by the Catholic press. He divides his time between Minnesota and Rome.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49537146290449,"sku":"GOR004721414","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49632908542225,"sku":"GOR004746908","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50346230808849,"sku":"CIN0241967414G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50347267555601,"sku":"CIN0241967414A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50935698555153,"sku":"GOR010981885","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0241967414.jpg?v=1751164369"},{"product_id":"vatican-prophecies-book-john-thavis-9780525426899","title":"The Vatican Prophecies","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe process by which these supernatural events are authenticated is expertly told by John Thavis, one of the world's leading Vaticanologists. In fact, that a book on so secretive and complex a topic is so deeply researched, beautifully written, and artfully told is something of a small miracle itself.\u003cb\u003e--James Martin, S.J., author of \u003ci\u003eJesus: A Pilgrimage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Vatican Diaries\u003c\/i\u003e, a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how the Vatican investigates claims of miraculous events \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eApocalyptic prophecies and miraculous apparitions are headline-grabbing events that often put the Catholic Church's concept of rational faith at odds with the passion of its more zealous followers. To some, these claims teeter on the edge of absurdity. Others see them as evidence of a private connection with God. For the Vatican, the issue is much more nuanced as each supposed miraculous event could have serious theological and political consequences. In response, the Vatican has developed a highly secretive and complex evaluation system to judge the authenticity of supernatural phenomena. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFormer journalist John Thavis uses his thirty years' experience covering the Vatican to shed light on this little-known process, revealing deep internal debates on the power of religious relics, private revelations, exorcisms, and more. Enlightening and accessible to Catholics and non-Catholics alike, the book illustrates the Church's struggle to balance the tension between traditional beliefs and contemporary skepticism.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49625670779153,"sku":"GOR009027258","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49724842541329,"sku":"CIN0525426892G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50256672030993,"sku":"CIN0525426892VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50352038740241,"sku":"CIN0525426892A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51343225553169,"sku":"GOR014231074","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":51835265810705,"sku":"CIN0525426892LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0525426892.jpg?v=1750698276"},{"product_id":"vatican-diaries-book-john-thavis-9780143124535","title":"The Vatican Diaries","description":"A revealing inside look at one of the world's most powerful and mysterious institutions For more than twenty-five years John Thavis held one of the most fascinating journalistic jobs in the world: reporting on the inner workings of the Vatican. His daily exposure to the power, politics, and personalities in the seat of Roman Catholicism gave him a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective on an institution that is far less monolithic and unified than it first appears. Thavis reveals Vatican City as a place where Curia cardinals fight private wars, scandals threaten to undermine papal authority, and reverence for the past is continually upended by the practical considerations of modern life. Thavis takes listeners from a bell tower high above St. Peter's to the depths of the basilica and the saint's burial place, from the politicking surrounding the election of a new pope and the ever-growing sexual abuse scandals around the world to controversies about the Vatican's stand on contraception and more.Perceptive, sharply written, and witty, The Vatican Diaries will appeal not only to Catholics--lapsed as well as devout--but to anyone interested in international diplomacy and the role of religion in an increasingly secularized world.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49788534128913,"sku":"CIN0143124536G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50345586950417,"sku":"CIN0143124536A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50543414870289,"sku":"CIN0143124536VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50999486251281,"sku":"NIN9780143124535","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52369779949841,"sku":"GOR009691136","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0143124536.jpg?v=1750694923"},{"product_id":"vatican-diaries-book-john-thavis-9780670026715","title":"The Vatican Diaries","description":"A revealing inside look at one of the world's most powerful and mysterious institutions For more than twenty-five years John Thavis held one of the most fascinating journalistic jobs in the world: reporting on the inner workings of the Vatican. His daily exposure to the power, politics, and personalities in the seat of Roman Catholicism gave him a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective on an institution that is far less monolithic and unified than it first appears. Thavis reveals Vatican City as a place where Curia cardinals fight private wars, scandals threaten to undermine papal authority, and reverence for the past is continually upended by the practical considerations of modern life. Thavis takes listeners from a bell tower high above St. Peter's to the depths of the basilica and the saint's burial place, from the politicking surrounding the election of a new pope and the ever-growing sexual abuse scandals around the world to controversies about the Vatican's stand on contraception and more.Perceptive, sharply written, and witty, The Vatican Diaries will appeal not only to Catholics--lapsed as well as devout--but to anyone interested in international diplomacy and the role of religion in an increasingly secularized world.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49863822967057,"sku":"GOR004931189","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50094764032273,"sku":"CIN0670026719G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51777470923025,"sku":"CIN0670026719VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":51861276229905,"sku":"CIN0670026719A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53146701103377,"sku":"GOR009023926","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53263782281489,"sku":"GOR014843659","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0670026719.jpg?v=1750816394"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-john-thavis.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}