Apocalyptic prophecies and miraculous apparitions are headline-grabbing events that often put the Catholic Church’s doctrine 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. In THE VATICAN PROPHECIES: Investigating Supernatural Signs, Apparitions, and Miracles in the Modern Age John Thavis once again takes us behind the scenes at the Vatican to explain the process by which saints are canonized, how miracles are investigated and verified, and yes, exorcisms.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
In 2012 John Thavis retired as the Rome bureau chief of Catholic News Service, the world’s largest and oldest religious news agency, after covering the Vatican for 30 years. He has won numerous awards for reporting, and in 2007 was presented the St. Francis de Sales Award, considered the highest honor given by the Catholic press. His first book, The Vatican Diaries A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church, was a New York Times bestseller. He has lectured extensively on Vatican affairs, and now divides his time between Minnesota and Rome. His blog, Decoding the Vatican, is found at www.johnthavis.com.
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