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The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights Abuse Paperback – 8 Sep 2010

by Geoffrey Robertson QC (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 29 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin (8 Sept. 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0241953847
  • ISBN-13: 978-0241953846
  • Product Dimensions: 1.9 x 13.3 x 20.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 401,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

A challenge no thoughtful Catholic can ignore (Helena Kennedy)

An utterly brilliant, brave, and oh-so-timely book ... It puts Ratzinger squarely in the frame (Lisa Appignanesi)

Geoffrey Robertson is a brilliant lawyer and it shows. The clear light of his style - painstaking, thorough, dispassionate - throws into cruel relief the truth from which the Pope cannot hide (Richard Dawkins)

He writes clearly, at times passionately, as counsel for the prosecution. It works ... touches believers and non-believers alike (John Lloyd Financial Times)

Devastating ... a book that combines moral passion with steely forensic precision, enlivened with the odd flash of dry wit. With admirable judiciousness, it even finds it in its heart to praise the charitable work of the Catholic church, as well as reminding us that paedophiles (whom Robertson has defended in court) can be kindly men. It is one of the most formidable demolition jobs one could imagine on a man who has done more to discredit the cause of religion than Rasputin and Pat Robertson put together (Terry Eagleton Guardian)

About the Author

Geoffrey Robertson QC is founder and head of Doughty Street Chambers, the largest human rights practice in the UK. He has appeared in the courts of many countries as counsel in leading cases in constitutional, criminal and international law and served as the first President of the UN War Crimes Court in Sierra Leone, where he authored a landmark decision on the illegality of recruiting child soldiers. He defended in the last two cases brought for blasphemy in Britain (against Salman Rushdie and Gay News), represented Catholic lawyers and youth workers detained without trial by Lee Kwan Yew and was counsel in Bowman v United Kingdom, which established the right of Catholics to campaign effectively against abortion laws during elections. He sits as a recorder and as a master of Middle Temple and a visiting professor of human rights law at Queen Mary College. In 2008, he was appointed as a distinguished jurist member of the UN Justice Council. His books include Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice, a memoir, The Justice Game and The Tyrannicide Brief, an award winning study of the trial of Charles I.

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsTimely, well-written and scrupulously argued
By RL Dennett on 17 Sept. 2010
Format: Paperback
This is a timely, well-written (and scrupulously referenced) book. It won't sway anyone of faith, but that is not its aim. Instead, it sets out how the Catholic Church has, with depressing predictability, utterly failed to protect children from human rights abuse by their clergy. The church has (and continues to) placed protecting itself first and foremost. The most recent example being this week's revelations that a number of sex offenders who have served time in British jails for horrifying crimes of abuse against children are STILL officially members of the clergy, STILL called 'Father' and STILL being protected and cared for by the church. The same care and protection is not afforded the victims: witness the attempts last month by the Cardinal in Belgium to protect the Bishop accused of molesting his nephew. The Cardinal chose to criticise the VICTIM for not allowing the Bishop to retire quietly.

The Catholic Church operates its own secretive legal system known as Canon Law. This system has for decades (centuries?) processed allegations of child sex abuse internally, rather than handing over the accused to the police. This is a fact. The 'penalties' that the Catholic Church imposed on men who had raped children were not exactly up to the standards of the Inquisition. Rapist priests were, 'rebuked', 'warned', 'prayed for', 'offered counselling' and moved from parish to parish when the offences starting racking up again. This was official standard practice. The man in overall charge of this system for nearly 25 years was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who is now Pope Benedict XVI. This is a fact. It rings rather hollow to hear Ratzinger/Benedict's recent statements of remorse. He was in a position to do more (far more) to protect the abused children. And he could have done this far sooner.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsBrilliant
By MR DAVID S MCWILLIAMS on 20 April 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This is a concise and detailed document that suggests and then proves that the "original church" is manipulating the UN and intentionally covering up and protecting paedophiles. We would not give our respect or our time to the KKK or the Nazi party so why then the Catholic Church? This book finaly puts some meat onto the skeleton of suspicion that deep down every right thinking adult should feel. If only people would read it. My fear is that it will be read by aethiests and not by the ones who have imaginery friends in the sky. They will keep their heads in the sand and continue funding a world leading criminal gang. If books could change the world then this is one of them and we owe to our own children and the unsuspecting populations of the third world to read this book. We stopped cigarette companies from advertising in the developed world and they are now universally seen as harmful to society. That is why they moved their focus to the third world. The church is just the same. They target the uneducated and the brainwashed. The fact that educated people in the develped world support this church highlights the fact that most people probably haven't read books like this. We owe it to our own societies and those of the developed world to learn what this vile church is really like.
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5.0 out of 5 starsVery educational book
By Aleksandra on 17 Feb. 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I found this book very educational and an eye opener. It presents all facts backed up by proper referencing leading to its conclusion - basically what its title says: Accountability of Vatican for Human Rights Abuse. Although a distinguished lawyer Mr Robertson did his best to write the book in an easy to read manner and went to a great extent to make it even more interesting by inserting his sometimes very humorous comparisons and illustrations. It is probably to be credited to his British sense of humor. Book provides reader with all details required to understand legal view on the issue but at the same time it does not overload the reader with long historical or legal explanations. I would recommend it to anybody interested in understanding legal aspects of Vatican state status as well as its responsibility for the latest children abuse scandal.
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5.0 out of 5 starsCatholics should read this book
By Vallo Dee on 7 Oct. 2010
Format: Paperback
This book is very precise in a legal way, as you would expect, but it is easy to read and to follow. It is not full of hate; only of facts. It shows how wrong it is for the catholic church to behave as if is a state. It also shows the harm that can be done and has been done by the catholic church at the united nations where no-one has challenged it. It also shows the cover up of clerical child abuse and all the catholic faithful must be shocked by this and want it cleared up not covered up.
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5.0 out of 5 starsShould the Pope be put on trial?
By Richard Vernon on 12 Sept. 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This book investigates the legal, political, social and religious issues surrounding the possibility of putting the Pope on trial for crimes against humanity, for his involvement in the child sex abuse scandal that has hit the Catholic church in recent years. The author is one of the world's top Human Rights lawyers with a vast experience of International Law.

To help you understand this review more fully, I will here publicly 'out' myself as having been a victim of child sex abuse, though in my case it was fairly mild, committed by a female relative, and had nothing to do with religion.

The main issue is this: that Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, knew all about the extent and nature of the abuses being committed by Catholic priests, and not only did nothing to stop it, but actively covered it up, moving offenders from parish to parish where they would be free to offend again, and actively prevented the involvement of law enforcement officers throughout the world. This, it is said, amounts to crimes against humanity.

Before reading this book I didn't think that putting him on trial was a good idea, and highly unlikely to even be possible, but there is a large amount of evidence presented here (though thankfully no prurient details of victim's statements), and I for one am now convinced that it is not only just, but absolutely vital that the Pope should be put on trial.Indeed, judging from the evidence of his collusion in these crimes, I can't help thinking that a trial and imprisonment should be the least of his worries, for if there really IS a Heaven and Hell, he'll surely fry forever in the latter. But read this book carefully, especially the appendices at the back, which contain a number of documents written or approved by Mr.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsWhen looked at against its responsibilities under some of the...

An interesting and thorough review of the status and possible accountability of the Vatican with particular reference to the world-wide allegations and instances of child abuse by... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Des Howell
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

This book was a real eye opener!

Published 11 months ago by Finn
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Bought as a present

Published 17 months ago by Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 starshe is a disgusting facilitator of paedophilia

OMG this book is absolutely devastating, get Ratzinger in the dock now, he is a disgusting facilitator of paedophilia.

Published 17 months ago by Lucas Amos
3.0 out of 5 starsReally?

A rejoinder to this lawyer's brief might be 'The case against the lawyers.'
Shall we examine for a moment the great and dastardly crimes and non accountability of the lawyers... Read more

Published 21 months ago by pearl
5.0 out of 5 starsHorrifying exposé of Vatican wickedness.

Geoffrey Robertson Q.C. is one of those thorough researchers whose writings are always readable and reliable. Read more

Published on 1 Aug. 2014 by Fratello
5.0 out of 5 starsShould not this church be dissolved since it offends the laws of the...

A very comprehensive and convincing revelation of the RC Church's defence of its 'good name' by the routine telling of lies and refusal to submit their errant priesthood to the... Read more

Published on 25 July 2014 by W. Scott
5.0 out of 5 starsProtection of child molesters on an industrial scale.

Describes the protection of child molesters on an industrial scale (100,000 victims in recent decades) by the Catholic Church, especially by the current pope in a former role in... Read more

Published on 5 Aug. 2012 by Steven
5.0 out of 5 starsHarrowing

Reading this book makes you wonder how church can still exist and how it still has a following. This may sound extreme but the book is balanced and based on facts, something the... Read more

Published on 27 April 2012 by Mike
4.0 out of 5 starsCompelling Material, Dry Narrative

This book contains some information that will make you sit back and have to take a few minutes to simply comprehend what you have just read. Read more

Published on 21 Mar. 2012 by High5

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