Four German dairy farmers are riding their tractors into Rome on a pilgrimage to see the Pope, hoping to gain support for dairy farming communities suffering from severe price slumps. The men, two of whom are Catholic, hope the 1100 mile, 9 day trip from their home in rural far northeast Germany would drum up awareness and change for farmers like themselves across Europe, the Spiegel Online reported.
Albert Kobrow, Jacob de Vries, Michael Bobsien and Wolfgang Werk von Perleberg said dairy farmers like themselves were struggling to make ends meet and could be driven out of business. The report said German dairy farmers were only earning about 15 US cents per litre of milk.
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", the report added.
"The pope is there for everyone," De Vries, who came up with the idea of the pilgrimage. A Lutheran pastor from the town of Butzow, Karl-Martin Schabow, has provided the men with a letter of petition to hand over to the pontiff.
They aim to reach the Vatican by Friday morning, and are hoping to be granted a brief audience with Benedict to state their plight.
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