The Trial of Pope Benedict: Joseph Ratzinger and the Vatican's Assault on Reason, Compassion, and Human Dignity
A must-read indictment of one of the most powerful, reactionary, and secretive organizations in the world. Gawthrop's insightful investigation of a man whose ideas have ruled the Catholic Church for the better part of the last half-century nicely skewers the Ratzingerian mindset--and is all the more devastating, coming from a former member of the flock.―Stan Persky, author ofThen We Take BerlinandThe Short Version: An ABC BookHeartbreaking and magisterial ... If Gawthrop's tone is tempered by generosity and compassion, it is because this is what you should expect from a work that is also the memoir of a Roman Catholic atheist (there is such a thing).The Trialis written for everyone: for the free-thinker and for the faithful, and mostly, for the countless millions of obscurantism's victims.―Terry Glavin, author ofCome from the ShadowsandWaiting for the MacawsA strong, clear exposition of the case against the former pope and an intelligent reflection on the lost opportunities of Vatican II. It is a book that will engage and inform all readers, no matter where or whether they worship.―Vancouver SunAn informative and damning account.―The StrangerIn the same spirit of j'accuse journalism as Christopher Hitchens'The Trial of Henry Kissinger, Daniel Gawthrop takes on the legacy of the recently retired Pope Benedict XVI (né Joseph Ratzinger) in an impassioned broadside that takes readers through a laundry list of scandal and sin ... [Gawthrop] shines a welcome light into some of the darker corners of the Vatican while making a strong case for greater openness and reform.―Quill and QuireA damning indictment ... The writer recounts in exhaustive detail the litany of misdeeds perpetrated by the Vatican under this particular pope, the first to resign in centuries.―Gay and Lesbian Review