After being condemned for opening a restaurant close to St Peter’s Square in Rome, fast food chain McDonald’s is trying to make peace with its critics by giving away 1,000 double cheeseburgers each week to the homeless.
From today the branch – whose opening was criticized by senior figures in the Catholic Church – will hand out the free food to the increasing numbers of vagrants who sleep rough in the area since Pope Francis began offering free showers and haircuts to the poor.
The row over the new McDonald’s branch began last October when seven cardinals living above the restaurant, in the Borgo district next to St Peter’s, complained to the Pope.
“It’s a controversial, perverse decision to say the least,” said Elio Sgreccia, a senior cardinal, before the opening.
Others joined the protest, pointing out that opening a new McDonald’s could damage trade in local restaurants.
In an effort to fend off criticism, McDonald’s has taken up an offer from a charity that works with the Vatican to supply its cheeseburgers to tramps every Monday lunchtime. Lucia Ercoli, director of Medicina Solidale, said it was an opportunity to “give the women and the men living on the street in the neighbourhood the chance of a balanced meal”.
The area around St Peter’s has changed markedly in recent years since so many homeless began sleeping there, attracted by the Pope’s generosity towards them. He has also invited tramps into the Vatican for a birthday party and for a concert.
