John Thavis released The Vatican Diaries’ in 2013 and added a section about Pope Francis for the paperback edition. ‘It has struck me how the level of enthusiasm around the world for this new Pope is definitely a notch or two above that inside the Vatican,’ the author said.
Pope Francis, the surprise choice of last year’s papal conclave, continues his efforts to reform the church by pushing it away from unforgiving edicts, complex theology, and the Vatican itself.
Will the bureaucrats fight back? For perspective, I called author John Thavis, who divides his time between Minnesota and Rome. A former Rome bureau chief with the Catholic News Service, he wrote the bestselling 2013 book «The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church.»
«The Vatican Diaries» is now out in paperback with a new section about Pope Francis.
In our interview, Thavis talked about dissent within the Vatican, the Pope’s focus on the mother of Jesus and the devil, and the prospects for a long-lasting legacy.
Q: Is there an internal old guard that’s working against the Pope in the Vatican bureaucracy known as the Curia?
A: There is an old guard at the Vatican which encompasses much of the Curia, and they’ve lost control of the papacy… MORE