McDonald’s has plans to open in Vatican City near St. Peter’s Square, but the cardinals are fighting the fast food mega-chain.
“It’s a controversial, perverse decision to say the least,” said Cardinal Elio Sgreccia in an interview with La Repubblica. Opening a branch of the popular fast-food chain, Sgreccia argued, is “by no means respectful of the architectural traditions of one of the most characteristic squares which look onto the colonnade of Saint Peter’s.”
The planned location of the McDonald’s is below the residence of several cardinals. One cardinal even wrote a letter to the pope asking for intervention in the project.
“Instead of a Golden Arches near the heart of the Roman Catholic Church, the space should be used to house entities which help the needy, in line with the pope’s call for a ‘poor church for the poor,’” Sgreccia said.
The project would net the Vatican $30,000 a month and is unlikely to be stopped.
Cardinal Domenix Calcagana, who handles the Vatican’s real estate says the objections will have no effect on the project. “I don’t see the scandal.”
McDonald’s has run into issues in Italy before when it applied to open a branch near Florence’s Duomo.
What do you think? Should McDonald’s be stopped from opening its chains near historical sites?
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