(ZENIT News / Roma, 02.27.2024).- Italian farmers from the Agriculture and Land Movement (MAT) entered St. Peter’s Square in Rome on Sunday, February 18, for the Angelus prayer with Pope Francis. They brought him a tractor as a gift, symbolizing their work, and showed him the cow named Ercolina, a symbol of their protests and of many other European farmers against woke policies that harm them.
The Pontiff blessed the farmers from the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace: «I greet the farmers and breeders present in the square,» he said. The group of farmers’ organizations thanked the Pope in a letter for the facilities received after requesting permission from the Holy See to be present during the Angelus.
They entered St. Peter’s Square with the tractors they used during the days of protest, organized against European policies that ban pesticides and impose minimum prices on their products. They also presented the Pope with «a tractor, a symbol of our effort,» flour brought from their regions, the image of a Christ found in a field, and a bell used to call animals.
«With this blessing, we were able to find the strength to win the game,» the farmers said. In the presence of the farmers in Rome, the controversial Dani Mateo revealed in Spain’s El Intermedio newscast that «farmers from all over Europe have the support of a much more powerful being: God.»
The farmers indicated in the note to the Holy Father that they are «deeply concerned» about the fate of agriculture in Europe, affected by the progressive agenda of 2023. Additionally, they have ensured that the government must provide concrete answers soon, as future generations «cannot wait any longer.»
Their letter emphasizes that the land is a «source of life» and that farmers work under inadequate, speculative, and unjust economic and agricultural policies. «Our voice will not stop,» and they open paths of dialogue and perseverance, with «dignity and conviction to reach concrete goals.»
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