It's been a tough week for the frontrunner to be pope
The 133 cardinal electors participating in the conclave entered the Sistine Chapel yesterday, singing Veni Creator Spiritus. As they conducted their first vote – which resulted in black smoke – they were no doubt unable to avoid contemplating the highly damaging stream of revelations that have plagued the frontrunner to be the next pope, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The cardinals will be locked inside the chapel surrounded by Michelangelo's astounding frescoes – incommunicado with the world but not with God – until two thirds of them coagulate around a single name. In the 13th century this process once took 1,006 days. But in the past 150 years the longest conclave has lasted five days. There was only one ballot yesterday but will be four on subsequent days.
Parolin – Secretary of State throughout the papacy of Pope Francis – remains the bookmakers' favourite – despite the damning press coverage which it must be said many Italian media outlets have done their best to ignore.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economist
a day ago
- Economist
Five opposition-backed referendums fail in Italy
When Maurizio Landini arrived at the polling station in the village of San Polo D'Enza, he found it almost empty: not a promising sign. Mr Landini, who heads Italy's biggest trade union federation, was the leading sponsor of four referendums held on June 8th and 9th dealing with job security and workplace safety. A fifth proposition offered voters a chance to give immigrants easier access to Italian citizenship. But for the results to be valid, more than half the electorate had to vote. Mr Landini, other trade unionists and opposition politicians had been urging people to turn out for weeks.
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Second Italian journalist targeted with Paragon spyware, watchdog group says
LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - A second Italian journalist was recently targeted by software made by U.S.-owned surveillance company Paragon, internet watchdog group Citizen Lab said, raising new questions about a surveillance scandal that has already led Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government and Paragon to part ways. Citizen Lab said in a report on Thursday that Italian investigative journalist Ciro Pellegrino's iPhone showed evidence of having been targeted by Paragon's sophisticated spy software. Pellegrino works at the online newspaper Fanpage, whose editor-in-chief Francesco Cancellato earlier disclosed that he was one of scores of users who received January alerts from WhatsApp that they had been targeted using Paragon's technology. Fanpage has published a stream of critical coverage of Meloni's government, notably an exposé tying her party's youth wing to neo-Nazi activity, and the allegation that Fanpage's journalists, among others, were put under surveillance has stirred controversy in Italy. On Monday, the government and Paragon announced that they were no longer working together, offering conflicting explanations about who fired whom. Paragon referred questions back to an earlier statement, opens new tab it provided to the Israeli publication Haaretz in which it said it had offered Italian officials a way to check whether its systems had been used against Cancellato, but that Italian authorities had rebuffed the offer. Italian officials did not return a message seeking comment on the Citizen Lab report. In a text exchange with Reuters, Pellegrino said the discovery that he had been targeted with spyware was "horrible." The Naples-based journalist said his phone was "the black box of my life, which contains everything from personal and health data to journalistic sources." Although an Italian parliamentary panel reported on Monday that the country's spy services had deployed Paragon's tools to intercept the communications of migrant sea rescue activists in the context of law enforcement work, the panel said it had found no evidence that the tools were used by Italian intelligence to go after Fanpage's Cancellato. The discovery of Paragon spyware on the phone of one of Cancellato's colleagues adds to questions about the panel's thoroughness, said Natalia Krapiva, a senior lawyer with Access Now, a human rights group that works with spyware victims. "It sheds serious doubt on the adequacy of the investigation," she said. The Italian parliamentary panel, which has reserved the right to conduct further investigations around the matter, did not respond to a message seeking comment. In its report, Citizen Lab also said that an unnamed European journalist was hacked with Paragon's spyware. The lab, which is based out of the University of Toronto, offered no other details and declined to answer questions about the journalist's identity or the circumstances of their targeting.
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Daily Record
DJs Scottish Donald Trump impression goes viral in hilarious skits
Steven Galloni said he has been flooded with requests from companies and musicians to help promote them. A Scot has spoken of his joy at his Scottish Donald Trump character going viral - after his hilarious social media sketches have racked up over a million views. Restaurant boss, DJ and podcaster Steven Galloni - who is known as Gal - posted several clips of 'Big Donnie' on his TikTok. The skits talk of Trump on nights out and ridicule his spat with Tesla, X, formerly Twitter, and SpaceX boss Elon Musk. Gal, who also regularly does stand up comedy, said he has been asked by companies and fellow musicians to plug their creations. But he says the best part of his new found fame is that he's been making ill Scottish grannies laugh in their hospital beds. Gal, who was born in Italy but raised in Dumbarton, said: "I've been doing accents and impressions since I was like 5 years old so I've always experimented with voices. So a character like Trump I've been trying his voice for a long time. "It's got better and better over time. The Scottish twist to it just came naturally. It's currently sat at half a million views on my own TikTok alone. But a few big pages have shared it on FB too which was like nearly 500k. "Collectively it's sitting really quite high over a million views which is nuts. I honestly just make my mates laugh all the time with the impressions so to see them get so much traction online is really cool! I'm usually doing everyone's nut in." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. During the coronavirus pandemic, Gal and pal Stephen Kirkwood were forced to adapt when restrictions dented their music and training business, SKapade Studios. Inspired by old recipes handed down from Gal's gran, they opened authentic Italian restaurant Bangin' Pizza, serving pizzas made of only the finest Italian ingredients. And Big Donnie has given Gal the chance to embark on another career and possibly even his own TV show. He said: "I've had a few different requests. A couple companies wanting me to promote them, a couple of music artists too. "Loads of people telling me to start a personalised video service, like on Cameo. I'm thinking about it but I'm not sure. I'm still enjoying building a wee following here so we will see. It could be funny. "I've done stand up on and off for years and have always been a comedian. I'm definitely brewing up my own show or something. I love being on stage so I'm keen to get something together for Big Donnie. "I think it would be hilarious. But I'm just taking it all in my stride. I'm buzzing with the reaction that it's getting and I just want to thank everyone for the overwhelmingly positive support and love. "The most surprising thing is the messages of support I'm getting. It also seems like whole families are enjoying the content. So many people have told me their whole family have been laughing. "Wee grannies in hospitals have had their days lit up with Scottish Trump and people who are going through a lot have told me that the silly impressions have lifted their spirits. There's honestly been some mind blowing positive love has been coming my way. "It's such a nice thing to hear. I've also followed up with other videos that are doing pretty well and I can't believe how much folk are loving Scottish Trump." Gal's TikTok is @stevengalloni.
