A church diocese in Italy has apologized to outraged parents after its bishop told a group of children that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.
Antonio Stagliano shocked young worshippers at a family service at the Santissimo Salvatore church in Noto, southern Italy, by telling them Santa “does not exist”
He sparked further controversy after adding that his red costume had been created by Coca Cola for publicity purposes.
But the diocese of Noto has insisted that the Bishop did not mean to dash the dreams of youngsters two weeks before Christmas.
Communications director Alessandro Paolino said Stagliano was trying to underline the true meaning of Christmas and the story of Saint Nicholas, a bishop who gave gifts to the poor.
“First of all, on behalf of the bishop, I express my sorrow for this declaration which has created disappointment in the little ones, and want to specify that Monsignor Stagliano‘s intentions were quite different,” Paolino wrote on the diocesan Facebook page.
“We certainly must not demolish the imagination of children, but draw good examples from it that are positive for life,” he continued.
“So Santa Claus is an effective image to convey the importance of giving, generosity, sharing. But when this image loses its meaning, you see Santa Claus aka consumerism, the desire to own, buy, buy and buy again, then you have to revalue it by giving it a new meaning.”
However, the post received a flood of criticism from disgruntled parents.
“You are demonstrating that, when it comes to families, children and family education, you don’t understand a thing,” a commenter, identified as Mary Avola, wrote.
Several others praised the bishop for attempting to focus on the Catholic meaning of Christmas.
