“We have lost our faith in politics, but not in the church.”
That is the battle cry of four German dairy farmers. Dairy farmers in Germany and Europe in general have been going through a very rough time as the price of milk has plummeted. They have appealed to a bevy politicians for aid in their time of need, but none has been forthcoming. So now four dairy farmers in Germany have decided to take their appeal for aid in their plight to a higher power. The Pope.
So now these four farmers, only two of whom are Catholic, are making a pilgrimage to Rome – via tractor.
The quartet heading for Rome belong to the German Federal Association of Dairy Farmers (BDM) and they all went to Brussels in May to take part in protests organized by European dairy farmers calling for the European Union milk quotas to be lowered.
The convoy of two tractors and a VW bus is traveling under the motto: “We have lost our faith in politics, but not in the church.” Although two of the group are not even Catholic that hasn’t deterred them from hoping the pope will grant them a brief audience. “The pope is there for everyone,” De Vries, who came with the idea of the pilgrimage, told the Neumarkter Nachrichten on Sunday. De Vries said he didn’t want to give up his protests without trying everything to ensure the agrarian future for his three sons, who work on the farm with him. A Lutheran pastor from the town of Bützow, Karl-Martin Schabow, has even provided the men with a letter of petition to hand over to the pontiff.
Another of the pilgrims, the 38-year-old Kobow, may be a Catholic but, as he told Bild newspaper on Tuesday, “I only go to church for christenings, weddings and funerals.” Nevertheless, he has faith in the 1,800 kilometer trip to Rome. “We wanted to do something new, a change from the usual demonstrations. We hope that society and politicians will finally wake up.”
So far the men have made good progress, traveling around 250 kilometers a day, and they aim to reach the Vatican by Friday morning. Before he left his 500 dairy cows back home in the village of Dadow bei Ludwigslust, De Vries told local newspaper theSchweriner Volkszeitung that he may have lost his faith in politics but not in the “up high above.” He said he was sure that the pope would give them at least three minutes of his time, “because we are travelling by tractor from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean.”
I could make a point about how this story speaks volumes on how that in even a secular Europe, the Church and the Papacy have the power to unite in a crisis, but I won’t. Rather I think I will point out that this story has a dateline of July 21. So the farmers should have reached Rome by now. I wonder who got the unenviable task of telling the farmers that the Pope isn’t there?
July 29, 2009 at 6:36 am
So… they're hoping… Catholics are thirsty? Catholics are sympathetic to those with… thirst? What? Somebody seriously help explain this too me, I'm not even trying to be my usual sarcastic self.
July 29, 2009 at 7:19 am
No, as Germans they are thinking they have historically been able to buldoze their way to Rome and demand whatever they wish. This is just stupid. I'm thinking (and secretly hoping) they get as far as Castel Sant'Angelo where the Carabinieri thank them for their visit and turn them back to where they came from so they can produce more EU subsidized milk for the masses.
On the other hand, maybe "cushy dairy farmers" come in right between AIDS pandemic and worldwide liturgical reform on the Vatican's priority list.
July 29, 2009 at 7:09 pm
or it might be to ask the pope to interceed for them to the EU, like popes have done throughout history on behalf of those who suffer. Now I dont know ANYTHING about European dairy farms or the economic plight they may or may not have, but still if they are in trouble then maybe the pope (or those who serve under him) could help in some way. Who knows maybe they are close to losing their farms and are desperate for any help to keep their way of life alive. ALthough I do think they might have put a little research into the timing…
Jackie
July 30, 2009 at 12:42 am
Ah, a "Why haven't you thought about me recently?" thing.
Is it wrong that I keep forgetting we're supposed to have oodles of cash hidden in the Vatician?