The protests are directed against the Catholic Church for renting out the property, not against McDonalds.
Speaking on behalf of the seven cardinals who live in the property, Cardinal Sgreccia added: “The space should be used instead to house entities which help the needy, in line with the Pope’s call for a ‘poor church for the poor’.”
On the surface, it does seem to run counter to the Church's core principles indeed, but then again they can probably use the steep rent for such prime real estate to help a lot more people in other less expensive places.
The protests are directed against the Catholic Church for renting out the property, not against McDonalds.
Source: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/10/...rse-plan-to-open-a-mcdonalds-in-vatican-city/
On the surface, it does seem to run counter to the Church's core principles indeed, but then again they can probably use the steep rent for such prime real estate to help a lot more people in other less expensive places.