A McDonalds restaurant will open inside a Vatican building just around the corner from St. Peter’s Square.
After many requests from different companies to move into the empty space, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which oversees the Vatican’s assets, decided to rent it to McDonald’s for 30,000 euros a month.
Not everyone is happy with the “McVatican,” deal.
In an interview with an Italian newspaper, Cardinal Elio Sgreccia, president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life, called the deal “a controversial, perverse decision to say the least.”
The fast-food chain’s presence so close to the Vatican “is not at all respectful of the architectural and urban traditions of one of the most characteristic squares overlooking the colonnade of St. Peter visited every day by thousands of pilgrims and tourists,” he said.
Sgreccia called the deal “a business decision that … ignores the culinary traditions of the Roman restaurant.”
He said the “mega sandwiches” on the McDonald’s menu are a hazard to peoples’ health.
He added that because of this, the “questionable” activity shouldn’t even be a consideration for Vatican property.
Other cardinals living in the building have also voiced their discontent.
There are also concerns about the homeless who have been living outside the building, some of them for years. It is thought they will be forced to leave once the restaurant is constructed.
Sgreccia said in addition to being a “disgrace,” the McDonald’s would have been better used as a space for “activities in defense of the needy in the area, hospitable areas of welcome and help for those who suffer, as the Holy Father teaches.”
Despite the opposition from cardinals living inside the building, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, president of APSA, has been unsympathetic, and said he doesn’t see what the problem is.
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