“An eye-opening account of corruption and secrecy.”
―Kirkus Reviews
“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 of Then We Take Berlin and The Short Version: An ABC Book
“A heartbreaking and magisterial elucidation of the warrant for the prosecution of Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, at the time of this writing a fugitive from justice. 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 (yes, there is such a thing). The Trial is a book that is written for everyone: for the free-thinker and for the faithful, and mostly, for the countless millions of obscurantism’s victims.”
―Terry Glavin, author of Come from the Shadows and Waiting for the Macaws
“A lover’s quarrel with the Church, by and large even tempered and amiable in tone but persuasively scathing throughout….A 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 inform all readers, no matter where or whether they worship.”
―Vancouver Sun
“In the same spirit of j’accuse journalism as Christopher Hitchens’ The Trial of Henry Kissinger, Daniel Gawthrop takes on [Ratzinger’s] legacy….The analysis of psychosexual issues surrounding the church’s attitudes toward women and gay priests is especially good, with Ratzinger himself appearing in the guise of a sexually underdeveloped – if not repressed – neo-con….[The Trial] shines a welcome light into some of the darker corners of the Vatican while making a strong case for greater openness and reform.”
―Quill & Quire
“Framed as a biography of Ratzinger, Daniel Gawthrop’s The Trial of Pope Benedict lists the erstwhile pope’s multitude of faults with passion and conviction…an informative and damning account of a hateful mind that ascended to the global stage.”
―The Stranger
“Gawthrop has meticulously researched Ratzinger’s rise through the church hierarchy….[The Trial] is an indictment, prosecuted with the zeal and attention to detail only a disillusioned former believer can bring to bear.”
―BC Bookworld
