Only a few months after being named head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis is already making his mark by eschewing traditional papal trappings. he has chosen to live in a Vatican guest house rather than the luxurious apartments occupied by his predecessors. And now he’s encouraging the clergy and his millions of followers to avoid driving ostentatious luxury cars.
“It hurts me when I see a priest or a nun with the latest model car, you can't do this,” Pope Francis recently said, according to Reuters. “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.”
This may sound a bit disingenuous coming from someone who recently received the keys to the new Mercedes-Benz "popemobile” from Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche (pictured above). But Pope Francis also received a less ostentatious and more environmentally friendly Smart eBike from Zetsche.
The latest popemobile is a Mercedes-Benz M-Class outfitted with a high-security glass bubble that allows the pope to see and be seen when he cruises among crowds of admirers without compromising his safety. It replaced a modified G-Class that has been in the Vatican fleet since 2002.
Zetsche and the pope also discussed Daimler's goal to make the company’s vehicles more environmentally friendly by investing 10.8 billion euros in “green” research and development, according to Mercedes-Benz.
Zetsche also detailed Daimler’s funding of projects in social science, education and art as well as the company’s charitable efforts. In 2012, the Daimler donated 58 million euros ($74.7 million) to nonprofit institutions and social projects around the globe, Zetsche said.
Even though Pope Francis is encouraging his flock to shun showy luxury cars, the Vatican’s relationship with Mercedes-Benz vehicles -- which stretches back to 1930 with a Nürburg 460 Pullman saloon for Pope Pius XI -- isn’t likely to change. We can't see him riding in crowds on his new eBike, and a popemobile Toyota Prius probably isn’t in the immediate future.
[Sources: Autoblog, Mercedes-Benz, Reuters]
Source: MSN
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