Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1535170
3 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 9 MAY 2025 NEWS GozoToday is a weekly newspaper focused primarily on Gozo. It hopes to serve as a source of information on business, culture, entertainment and of course current affairs. Gozo has a special charm about it but it is also a bustling Island with an identity of its own. GozoToday is published every Friday and is available to numerous outlets in Gozo and on the ferries that carry so many visitors to Gozo from Malta and beyond. GozoToday MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan San Gwann SGN 9016 EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Legal Framework of Rape Cases in 18th- Century Malta WIRT Għawdex will hold the fifth in its series of talks for 2025 on Fri- day the 16th of March at 6.30pm at St Cecilia Chapel, Għajnsielem. The talk by Vanessa Buhagiar, which will be delivered in English, will focus on the prosecution of rape in eighteenth-century Malta. In recent years public debate in Malta has deliberated about issues like female reproductive rights, institutionalised misogy- ny, and not least violence against women. This has been fuelled by a growing coverage by the media of cases such as femicide, and has sparked changes on the legislative level, such as with the introduc- tion of 'femicide' to the criminal code. This shift in discourse has oftentimes been accompanied by a growing interest in the history of violence against women in Malta. However, research on this front has so far been limited, especially with regards to Malta's early mod- ern period. In this lecture, Vanes- sa Buhagiar will investigate how the concept of rape was under- stood, presented, and prosecuted in court in eighteenth-century Malta by analysing the documen- tation of numerous cases heard in the courts and reported across Malta and Gozo. Insights into the experiences, narratives, and understandings of 'rape' of an early eighteenth- cen- tury society will be explored. Vanessa Buhagiar is the Assis- tant Director of the Notarial Reg- isters Archive and the Secretary of the Notarial Archives Foundation. A trained palaeographer, her re- search interests include cultural history, Malta during the early modern period, and the human- istic script and its manifestation in Malta. She graduated with Dis- tinction from King's College Lon- don with an M.A. in Early Modern History in 2020. Since 2025, she is also the Secretary of Wirt Għaw- dex. After the talk there will be time for questions from the audience and discussion. Wirt Għawdex's 2025 lecture series continues with Vanessa Buhagiar's talk on the prosecution of rape in 18th- century Malta, exploring its historical context within ongoing discussions on gender-based violence. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Cardinal Prevost was cho- sen during the fourth conclave vote, after two unsuccessful ballots on Thursday morning and another Wednesday night. St Peter's Square hosted around 45,000 pilgrims from around the world as they wait- ed for the smoke signal from the Sistine Chapel. This was the most globally diverse conclave in the Catho- lic Church's history, a result of Pope Francis's decision to appoint more cardinals from Asia, Africa and the Americas. The geographic composition of the conclave meant that no two continental blocks on their own could elect a pope if they voted according to geographic affinity. To be elected, the new pope had to obtain the support of two-thirds of the 133 cardinals who were eligible to vote. Among those 133 cardinals was also Gozitan Cardinal Mario Grech. Who is Cardinal Prevost? Ordained in 1982, Pope Leo IV received a doctorate in can- on law in Rome at the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas. He served for two decades in Peru, where he served as Bish- op of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023, and became a naturalized citizen. Prior to that, he served at the Order of St. Augustine, and was later chosen by Francis in 2023 to head the Dicastery for Bishops, a powerful Vatican of- fice that oversees episcopal ap- pointments worldwide. Leo IV has often emphasized service. In an interview with the Vatican's official news site in 2024, he said: "The bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom," but is "called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them". Papal name Cardinal Prevost selected the name Leo XIV. John, the most popular name selected among cardinals, has been used 23 times. Gregory has been used 16 times, and Benedict has been chosen 16 times. The only name that is not allowed to be used is Peter, which is an unwritten rule in the Catholic Church, paying respect to the first pope, Saint Peter. Leo IV: the first US pope in history White smoke billowed from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican on Thursday at around 6pm