The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church
Thavis, who covered the Vatican for 30 years as a journalist, has written an insider’s account chronicling some of the people, issues, and scandals that have made headlines over the years. The press hasn’t always been flattering, nor are some of the details Thavis recounts, such as the Vatican’s inaction when repeatedly apprised of allegations of sexual abuse of teenage seminarians by the founder of the Legion of Christ religious order. Though sympathetic to the Church, Thavis doesn’t stray very far from his journalistic roots. He presents the facts, leaving the editorial conclusions to be drawn by the reader. Although much of the book’s content will be of most interest to Catholics, the chapter titled “Sex,” which addresses condoms, AIDS, and homosexuality, will surely command a wider audience. In the end, we are left with a more nuanced understanding of the Vatican, an institution Thavis describes as “marked more by human flair and fallibility than ruthless efficiency.” The clergy sex-abuse scandal, however, may well belie the latter part of that assessment. --Christopher McConnell