Speaking to a two-day summit of Catholic and labour movement leaders at the Vatican last Friday, O'Grady said the world needs a new figure like Cardinal Manning.

(Manning was influential in setting the modern-day Catholic Church direction, advocated for social justice and helped settle the London dock strike of 1889.)

"He [Manning] didn't just make moral pronouncements but rolled up his sleeves and tried to bring about a fair settlement to the dockers' dispute," O'Grady continued.

She called on Catholics to challenge the titans of technology.

She named some of them as including tech giants Apple, Facebook and Google.

O'Grady went on to say these three tech giants negatively impact workers by not paying their fair share of taxes.

They are joined by Uber and Amazon, who exploit workers, O'Grady claimed.

She says they are "washing their hands" of the employer-employee relationship.

"When I speak to those young workers of Sports Direct, McDonalds or Amazon, they feel pretty alone in the world.

"They are facing employers that are far, far more powerful than the dockers' ones and need somebody to stand by their side and speak up for their rights.

"I would hope the Church can play a role."

The Vatican meeting O'Grady was addressing was organised by Cardinal Peter Turkston, who leads the Vatican's newly formed social action department.

The meeting's aim was to hear testimony of injustices suffered by working people and to consider how trade unions and the church can work together to achieve greater social justice.

In an advance press release, O'Grady said she would speak of young people she has met.

"This year I met the ‘McStrikers' - young fast-food workers at McDonald's, stuck on low pay and zero-hours contracts.

"Their demands are the same as the dockers nearly 130 years ago. They want a fair wage, guaranteed hours and recognition of their trade union...".

The press release continues:

"The church and the unions "share values of community, dignity and social solidarity … Together we can improve working lives and put dignity for working people ahead of market forces and freedom of capital.

"We can build a popular alliance for economic justice, in Britain and around the world."

Pope Francis has spoken against social injustice throughout his papacy.

In 2015 he denounced "the mentality of profit at any price, with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature."

At that time, he called the unfettered pursuit of money "the dung of the devil".

Source

• The Tablet
• Catholic Herald
• The Irish Post
• The Guardian
• Image: Tarek Shelaby

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.

Source

• Crux
• Image: 7NEWS

The McDonalds announcement follows a campaign by the anti-porn group Enough is Enough (EIE) and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

The Internet filtering has been activated in the majority of McDonalds's 14,000 outlets in the US.

"McDonald's is committed to providing a safe environment for our customers . . . ," a company statement noted.

"We had not heard from our customers that this was an issue, but we saw an opportunity that is consistent with our goal of providing an enjoyable experience for families," the statement continued.

McDonald's and Starbucks had already implemented pornography filtering at its locations in the UK.

Enough is Enough and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation appealed to Starbucks to follow McDonald's lead.

On Friday, Starbucks said it plans to implement filtering in its stores throughout the world, once they are sure that the filtering doesn't unintentionally block additional content.

Donna Rice Hughes, president of EIE, praised both McDonald's and Starbucks for recognising pornography as a public health crisis and as a threat to children's safety.

She said EIE will continue to strongly encourage "other businesses and venues such as hotels, airlines, shopping malls, and libraries to filter pornography and child abuse images on publically available Wi-Fi in order to protect children and families".

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Google Chrome

Daniel Cabrera, 9, was photographed doing his homework outside a McDonald's outlet in Mandaue City, Cebu, by medical technology student Joyce Torrefran.

There is no lamp in Daniel's home so he chose to study near a McDonald's - using a makeshift wooden desk - because of the large amount of light beaming out of the store.

Every morning, Daniel walks a kilometre to school, arriving for his first lesson at 8am.

But once there he has to be careful to avoid the bullies, who have already stolen one of only two pencils he has.

So Daniel keeps a set of rosary beads in his bag, hoping that it will ward off the bullies and that no one will take his remaining pencil.

Daniel's father died three years ago, and his mother barely makes a living as a street vendor and doing laundry.

The family lives in a wooden shack where Daniel and his siblings take turns to sleep on wooden benches.

There are no proper walls or electricity, making it very exposed during the cold winter months.

Ms Torrefranca posted images of Daniel on to her social media accounts, writing that she felt "inspired" by the boy's dedication to his studies.

The photo was shared more than 7000 times from her Facebook page and has gained mass media attention.

Since then, a fundraising page has been set up and has raised enough money to pay for Daniel's education all the way through college as well as provide him with more books and his own study lamp.

His mother is overjoyed and said "Now, Daniel will not have to suffer just to finish his studies".

The donations have been so generous that some of the money is going to help other children in similar situations.

Despite strong economic growth in recent years, a quarter of the Philippines' 100 million people still live on less than one dollar a day, with giant slums dominating the cities.

Sources

• Daily Mail
• The Telegraph
• Image: Stuff

Jobs in the fast food industry are often a young person's first taste of working life - from slinging burgers after school to delivering pizzas on the weekend.

The hours are flexible, and while the pay is usually minimal, the social side of it can be fun.

But full- or part-time, young workers spoken to for The Wireless agree - theirs is a tough job.

Physically and mentally, there's a lot to deal with: overwhelming heat in kitchens; demanding, sometimes abusive customers; standing all day, and the monotony of doing the same thing, shift after shift.

It's all go, and while the industry prides itself on creating career opportunities, moving through the ranks isn't for everyone.

Of people spoken to both on and off the record about their experiences in fast food work, responses were almost equally divided between enjoying the work, and despising it.

None were particularly interested in careers within the fast food industry.

McDonald's employs over 9000 people in New Zealand, the majority aged under 25.

The Only Option

Taarira Kiro-Paewhenua, 23, worked in the Whangerei Burger King for two-and-a-half years, spending the whole time in the kitchen making the burgers; in the end she found the job "sickening".

The job was her only option at the time and she didn't want to go on a benefit, she says.

Supporting herself in her own flat, she lived on the minimum wage of $13.50 an hour, usually working 40 hours to cover her rent, bills and food, leaving only $20 a week to spend on socialising. Continue reading.

Source: The Wireless

Image: Fanpop

The commercial showed two young children flirting with each, and a young girl asks a boy of the same age if she can be his girlfriend. The boy wasn't interested and says that "girls are too demanding", but after he discovers she plans to get some French fries, he smiles and they walk off to McDonalds.

"We recognise and respect the stand of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and have stopped airing the said commercial across all television stations," McDonalds said.

The Catholic Bishops Conference asked for the ad to be pulled because it centred on having young children participating in an "adult-themed" commercial.

Bishop Deogracias Yniguez, said "We should be very sensitive and recognisant of the culture and the values of our country."

About 80 percent of people in the Philippines are Catholic.

Sources

• Examiner
• Straits Times
• Image: YouTube