‘The Vatican Diaries’ Last Book for Year of Faith, Meeting Oct. 30 at CherryVale Barnes & Noble

(CNS photo)

When John Thavis gathered with fellow journalists at the Catholic Media Conference in June, he told them the book has some of the stories he couldn’t put in the Catholic News Service articles he was filing from Rome.
Thavis is the now-retired Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service, and his book, “The Vatican Diaries,” does live up to its subtitle — “A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church.”
Released last spring, “The Vatican Diaries” is the final selection for The Observer Book Club during the Year of Faith.
It came out just about the time Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI announced his retirement. That earned Thavis a spot as a “talking head” on several network news shows, sharing his  Vatican insights with television audiences across the U.S.

Thavis did for those viewers some of what Catholic News Service reviewer Brian T. Olszewski says he does in the book: “Thavis puts readers in the adjoining seat on the papal plane, on the back of his motor scooter and inside the Vatican press office. Whether it is a chapter about ringing bells following the election of a pope, or an even more telling one about the cause for canonization of Pope Pius XII, each illustrates how the power, personalities and politics are intertwined.”
Olszewski also writes, “When it comes to power, personalities and politics, ‘Diaries’ is reminiscent of Father Andrew Greeley’s ‘Making of the Pope 1978’ and Peter Hebblethwaite’s ‘The Year of Three Popes,’ both published in 1979. However, where they differ is that the people to whom Thavis introduces readers go beyond ‘papabili,’ (that is,) those who could be elected pope.”
Read more of Olszewski’s review at our book club blog, http://observer.rockforddiocese.org/year-of-faith-blog.
Then join us for a fun discussion of this easy-to-read book about Rome when we meet Oct. 30 to round out our Year of Faith discussions.

When and where: Oct. 30, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble, Cherry Vale Mall, 7200 Harrison Ave., Rockford
Book: “The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church” by John Thavis, retired Catholic News Service Rome bureau chief.  Penguin Group (New York, 2013). 321 pp; $27.95.
The book is available in print or electronic versions. Look for links to book sellers at Thavis’ website, or check at your local Barnes and Noble or other bookstore.
No RSVP is necessary (but it would be nice to know you’re coming). Meet at the mid-store cafe.
Info: Sharon Boehlefeld, sboehlefeld@rockforddiocese.org

See our blog post (below) about the book, too.