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# Gypsies Pastoral
- URL: https://thedailyeudemon.com/4094/
- Published: 2006-03-01T12:48:28.000Z
- Updated: 2006-03-01T12:48:28.000Z
- Author: Eric Scheske
- Tags: Religion, #wpChunk

> The Pontifical Council for Migrants has released a 30-page document on pastoral care for gypsies, noting with regret that nomadic peoples are especially vulnerable to the appeal of sects, and often marginalized by society.

> "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of Gypsies" provides an overview of the Church's relations with the nomadic peoples, outlines the problems they face, and forcefully emphasizes that the Church is committed to their spiritual and material welfare. The document is signed by Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao and Archbishop Agostino Marchetto: the president and secretary, respectively, of the Pontifical Council for Migrants.

[Catholic World News Link](http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=42687&ref=thedailyeudemon.com).

What do the Vatican and Cher have in common? They're both sympathetic to [gypsies](http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Gypsy?ref=thedailyeudemon.com) (*link to Yahoo! encyclopedia entry about gypsies*):

> I was born in the wagon of a travelin' show  
> My mama used to dance for the money they'd throw  
> Papa would do whatever he could  
> Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of  
> doctor good

> Chorus  
> Gypsies, tramps and thieves  
> We'd hear it from the people of the town  
> They'd call us gypsies, tramps and thieves  
> But every night all the men would come around  
> And lay their money down  
> Picked up a boy just south of Mobile  
> Gave him a ride, filled him with a hot meal  
> I was sixteen, he was twenty-one  
> Rode with us to Memphis  
> And papa woulda shot him if he knew what he'd done

> Chorus

> I never had schoolin' but he taught me well  
> With his smooth southern style  
> Three months later, I'm a gal in trouble  
> And I haven't seen him for a while  
> I haven't seen him for a while  
> She was born in the wagon of a travelin' show  
> Her mama had to dance for the money they'd throw  
> Grandpa'd do whatever he could  
> Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of doctor good

> Chorus

According to my web research, there are 10-12 million gypsies in the world. They're still nomadic, after all these years. I understand the persecution, but I gotta believe the moving way of life is their choice. Of all the people in the world, why do these people continue to live on the road?

I found this possible answer in [a *LA Times* story from earlier this year](http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-gypsy30jan30,0,7784207.story?page=1&coll=la-headlines-frontpage%7C&ref=thedailyeudemon.com): "The people known as Gypsies have preserved traditions that emphasize separation from mainstream societies, which they consider to be corrupting. Many do not send their children to school or work alongside non-Gypsies."

The article, by the way, is interesting. It talks about police investigators whose job is to stop gypsy crime. Gypsies= thieves. Unjust stereotype? These police officers apparently don't think so, though others think it's just horrible profiling.