Favourites jostle in multi-million dollar papal betting market
Gambling on the next pope was all the rage in Rome back in the 1500s, scandalising the deeply religious city, according to a University of Nevada research paper on the topic.
A Roman saddle-maker admitted making more than five times his money by successfully picking Cardinal Castagna to head the Catholic Church in 1590. And his subsequent trial revealed swathes of the city were indeed gambling on the papal election.
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ABC News
19 hours ago
- ABC News
'Beaten' and 'humiliated': Two Ukrainian soldiers on what it's like to be held captive by Russia
Ukrainian soldier Roman has endured physical and emotional trauma most people could never comprehend. Captured by Kremlin forces in May 2022, the 56-year-old was held in Russian captivity as a prisoner of war for close to three years. Warning: This story contains details some readers could find distressing, including descriptions of torture. "They beat me, they humiliated me and finally, they hung me," he told the ABC. "I thought, 'That's it, I would not wake up again.' "But God's merciful — I woke up." He surrendered to enemy forces after the infamous Azovstal steel siege, which gripped the frontline in Mariupol for 80 days during the start of the war. The fierce three-month battle came to define the brutality of Russia's war in Ukraine, and underlined the resilience of hundreds of outnumbered and outgunned soldiers left defending the steelworks and more than 1,000 stranded civilians. On the first night Roman was detained, he lost consciousness four times. "They hung me by the neck on a tree. Only when I lost consciousness did they let me go … they connected wires to me, they put my feet in a basin with water," he said. "Everything was blurry, the only thing I remember was wires and the basin. "They beat us, humiliated us, and tortured us. It all depended on how lucky you were." He spent a month inside a Russian prison in the Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Housed within a cell stretching just six metres squared, more than 60 prisoners were crammed inside and sleeping on top of each other, he recalls. Food was rationed and each prisoner was fed half a ladle of rice and a piece of bread a day. He was then transferred to the notorious Olenivka prison and was still there when it was hit by a massive explosion in July, killing 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war. "We could hear an explosion after 11pm. At first, we thought that it was our Ukrainian military firing," Roman recalled. "We were happy, cheerful. We thought that finally, our guys are here, close to us and they have attacked. "But the next morning we found out that the Azov soldiers had been blown up." After the explosion, Roman said soldiers from his unit were forced to clean up the human remains. "The human flesh was left for our guys," he said. "The cleaners told us how they had to wash the blood from the asphalt [and] the human flesh that they saw on the metal bars." Kyiv accused Russia of orchestrating the attack, labelling it a deliberate war crime. Moscow pointed the finger at Ukraine, suggesting Kyiv attacked its own people with a US-made HIMARS rocket. It is estimated that 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been captured by Russian forces since Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022. According to Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, more than 16,000 civilians are also in Russian captivity. Under the Geneva Convention, it is illegal to torture prisoners of war for information or use any form of coercion. There have been more than 60 prisoner swaps since the conflict began, but little has been reported about the lifelong trauma and physical injury the returned soldiers live with. Roman is still living with back pain, a sore knee and a "damaged" neck from his time as a prisoner. "There are constant reminders of that time and once I remember, I immediately have huge psychological issues," he said. Vadim, another soldier who was captured outside the Mariupol steelworks in 2022, is still undergoing rehabilitation for his injuries. "I was a healthy man before the war and now I feel I am really poorly," he said. "They beat me, hit me with a taser; they hung me up by my genitals to torture me and get information." During his two years and eight months in captivity, he lost 40 kilograms — almost half of his body weight — and was transferred to several Russian prisons. "Every morning, we were taken out of our cells for the morning check-up," he said. "They blinded us, put us to the wall and began to beat for whatever reason: you are not standing properly, or you are not bending properly." Vadim and Roman formed a close bond during their time inside Olenivka prison. The two men couldn't believe their luck when they were released in a prisoner exchange in December. "It was my belief that helped me during that entire time. My belief in my family, my belief in Ukraine, and my belief in God," Vadim said. In what is shaping up to be the largest since the war broke out, the latest prisoner swap began on Monday and included the exchange of prisoners under 25 and those severely injured. It was the only deal Kyiv and Moscow agreed to during the second round of direct peace talks in Istanbul, which have made little progress towards bringing an end to the war. Over the next few days, both sides will return 1,200 prisoners each and repatriate the bodies of 12,000 fallen soldiers. Vadim is hoping there is peace in sight, and the pain and suffering soldiers and civilians have endured has not all been in vain. "There are no words to describe it," he said. "The brightest memory was after we crossed the border, as if we had seen two worlds. "There were kind, happy faces waiting for us. All of us had tears."
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
ACT Greens announce bill that would make institutions vicariously liable for sexual abuse by employees
The ACT Greens have unveiled a bill aimed at making institutions such as the Catholic Church, Scouts and sporting groups vicariously liable for the actions of those associated with them who have sexually abused children. This includes priests, Scouts leaders, and sports coaches who may have a relationship with the organisation akin to employment, even though it is not strictly an employment relationship. The move was prompted by a High Court ruling last year that found a priest, accused of child sex offences, was not an employee of the church, so the institution could not be held vicariously liable for his actions because that only applies in employment relationships. "I am deeply concerned that we are now seeing a situation where institutions that have had people abused in their care are now able to avoid responsibility because of this apparent lack of connection where people who were priests, coaches other roles, as part of these institutions, are now not seen to be covered by that organisation," Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said. The High Court case involved a man who was allegedly sexually abused by the family priest in 1971, during pastoral visits to his family home. The man was only five at the time. The priest was Father Bryan Coffey, who was convicted of offences against other children in the 1990s and has since died. The High Court ruling was a bitter blow for the alleged victim, who had won two Victorian court cases, which found the church was vicariously liable for the damage caused to him. In both rulings it was found Father Coffey was not an employee of the church but had a special place within the hierarchy of the church, which gave rise to vicarious liability. The High Court found that simply wasn't the case, and only an employment relationship matters. "My observation of having read the material from the High Court is that they were looking at the broader picture of vicarious liability, and its broad status in the law, as opposed to the specific matters of child sexual abuse," Mr Rattenbury said. "So the High Court was thinking much more about a range of corporate matters and the like rather than the specifics." Mr Rattenbury said his proposed law would target child sex abuse. Lawyer Alessandra Pettit, who was involved in the launch of today's draft law, says the real problem is for the victims. "We spent $370 million on a royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse and whilst a lot of the recommendations have been helpful, it seems to be a bit of a pendulum in this area that it keeps swinging each way," Ms Pettit said. "I am really really concerned about the effect of this on my clients. "You are dealing with a cohort of people who have already been abused as children by someone in a position of power. "To stand up in court is not an easy thing for anyone and then to have technical legal arguments take that away is really really difficult." Mr Rattenbury said the Council of Attorneys General was looking at the issue, but it was something that had to be addressed more locally. "This will not be a national response, it is one that will sit with states and territories," Mr Rattenbury said. "So my view is to move forward. "And the ACT can act as a template and a guide for other jurisdictions." Mr Rattenbury said he was hoping his private members bill would get some traction in the Assembly. "This bill is about ensuring victims have access to justice for the crimes committed against them as children and it's about ensuring institutions make amends for the harm caused by their institutions and the people participated and took significant roles in those institutions," Mr Rattenbury said. The bill will be presented later in the month.
ABC News
02-06-2025
- ABC News
Three accused of stealing sculpture from Catholic Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo
An elderly man and two youths have allegedly stolen a 100-kilogram sculpture that caused outrage in a regional Victorian church community. At nearly 2 metres tall, the statue named Transcendence was carved from a century-old pine tree, and depicts a naked man and woman. It was part of a temporary art installation inside the Catholic Sacred Heart Cathedral in Central Bendigo. Victoria Police alleged the statue was stolen on Saturday, and said there were three suspects. "The offenders used a trolley to wheel a large sculpture out of the property," a police statement said. "A witness followed the males and observed them load the sculpture into a white van. On Monday morning, the sculpture was found dumped and damaged — without its veil — at St Killian's Church, a short distance from the cathedral. The statue's presence reportedly upset some parishioners, who objected to what the Sandhurst Diocese described as an "occult element" in the artwork's inspiration. Bishop Shane McKinley of Sandhurst said the reference was never made inside the church, but on the artists website, and had since been removed. "This possibility is something that we take extremely seriously," he said. Artist Ben Wrigley said he could not quite fathom the reaction to Transcendence, a work he described as the "transcendence of being bound by the dense material world". "I feel for them," he said. "Being upset, being angry, to the point where one will cross the boundary of one's faith, that's a very strong emotion." Transcendence is one of five sculptures on display across Bendigo, all carved from the same 100-year-old pine tree. The Catholic Sandhurst Diocese was unavailable for comment. Wrigley said he was relieved the artwork had been found. "I'm relieved, I can rectify it, no problem," Wrigley said. Police urged anyone with information about the alleged theft to contact Crime Stoppers.
