VATICAN CITY – Numerous cardinals living in the same apartment building as the new MacDonald’s restaurant near the St Anne's gate of Pope Francis' tiny city state are up in arms over the inauguration of the fast food dive, Il Messaggero reported Friday.

 It appears it is not just Borgo Pio rebelling against the new opening of a MacDonald’s restaurant in this historic quarter near Saint Peter’s square. Grumbles are also stemming from a number of cardinals, residents of the same building in which the colossal American fast-food chain are finishing off work on their new restaurant.

 The apartment building is inhabited by numerous cardinals. Retired Pope Benedict for example once lived on the second floor, which is now inhabited by Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, the well known German theologian.

 A bank used to be situated on the first floor of the palazzo, however, since the closing of the branch, the space has been left vacant. In the past, the expensive rent had discouraged many businesses from opening there, until the mega-chain MacDonald’s swooped in recently.

 Multiple business owners have complained regarding the inauguration, fearing that fast-food culture clashes with the traditional atmosphere of the area. However, this is not the principal complaint of the religious tenants. The cardinals are unhappy due to the fact they must pay in part for various building updates and adaptations, such as an enormous exhaust chimney, claimed by some to represent ‘an abuse of the building’. Indeed, Borgo Pio have not been allowed structures of this type in the past.

 The inhabitants were in fact so concerned they sent a letter to Apsa, Administration of the Heritage of the Apostolic See, yet received no reply. Apsa have allowed the multinational power-house to rent the space, and the cardinals must pay in part.

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