A Roman Catholic diocese in Sicily publicly apologized to angry parents after its bishop told a group of children that Santa Claus did not exist.
In a Facebook post on Friday and subsequent comments, the Diocese of Noto insisted that Bishop Antonio Stagliano did not mean to dash the dreams of youth two weeks before Christmas.
The diocesan communications director, Rev. 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 and was persecuted by the Roman emperor.
Italian news reports quoted Stagliano as saying during a recent religious festival that Santa does not exist and that his red dress was made for propaganda by the Coca-Cola Company.
“First of all, on behalf of the bishop, I express my sorrow for this announcement which has caused dismay among the little ones, and would like to point out that Monsignor Stagliano’s intentions were quite different,” Paolino wrote on the diocesan Facebook page. .
“We certainly should not destroy the imagination of children, but rather take good examples from it which 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, again buying, buying, buying and selling. If you want to buy again, then you have to re-evaluate it by giving it a new meaning.”
But, if the public comments section of the Noto page was any indication, the Sicilian parents had no sign of it.
While many welcomed the bishop’s effort to focus on the Catholic meaning of Christmas, others blamed Stagliano for interfering with family traditions and celebrations and for crushing the spirits of children whose formative years were disrupted by the pandemic. Were.
“You are demonstrating that, when it comes to families, children and family education, you don’t understand a thing,” wrote one commenter identified as Marie Evola.
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