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Features Editor
When John Thavis retired, the former Vatican bureau chief for Catholic News Service took us behind the scenes at the Holy See in his first book, “The Vatican Diaries.” (See our post.)
In his second book, “The Vatican Prophecies,” he’s taking us behind the scenes of “Investigating Supernatural Signs, Apparitions and Miracles in the Modern Age.”
And Thavis’ second book is also the second selection for The Observer Book Club’s One Diocese, One Book program.
Scheduled for release Sept. 15, “The Vatican Prophecies” talks about relics, such as cloth used by Padre Pio, Therese of Liseux and others, and how people view them.
It also discusses apparations, including the differences in Church attitudes toward the widely acclaimed visits of Mary to Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the less well known, but officiallly recognized, visits of Mary to Adele Brise near Campion, Wisconsin.
But, as with his first book, Thavis doesn’t just tell the surface story. He looks at the controversies and debates about these phenomena within the Church.
For example, Thavis tells us about Pope Benedict XVI’s concerns about how modern technology can spread word of potential apparitions or miracles before the Church can deal with them properly.
Thavis goes on to discuss a Vatican document outlining procedures for local bishops to examine such claims.
