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Feann Torr11 Jul 2013
NEWS

Pope Francis condemns luxury cars

Leader of the Catholic Church upset to see priests driving around in "fancy" cars, while taking delivery of a brand-new Mercedes Popemobile

Pope Francis (aka Jorge Bergoglio) has explained his frustration with priests of the Catholic Church spending large amounts of money on what he calls "fancy" cars.

He reportedly drives a Ford Focus around Vatican City and has requested his subjects drive "humble" vehicles.

The Argentine-born Pope told media on the weekend: "It hurts me when I see a priest or a nun with the latest model car, you can't do this."

"A car is necessary to do a lot of work, but please, choose a more humble one. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world," he said.

On Tuesday the Pope met with Dr Dieter Zetsche, Daimler AG chairman and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, to take delivery of his brand-new Popemobile.

The modified M-Class is used for official appearances by the Pope, and the Benz boss also provided the leader of the Catholic Church with a smart eBike.

Dr Zetsche said the handover of the official Popemobile was "a huge source of pride to us" and has been a tradition since 1930, when Pope Pius XI was given a Nurburg 460 Pullman saloon.

The Mercedes-Benz supremo said he was "delighted that His Holiness Pope Francis has decided to trust in the safety and comfort of our vehicles and that, by providing the Popemobile, we will continue to accompany him on his travels in the future".

Pope Francis took over the Catholic Church's most senior position from German Pope Benedict in March 2013, and has been lauded for his uncompromising views on consumerism.

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