A Roman Catholic diocese in Sicily has publicly apologized to angry parents after its bishop told a group of children that Santa Claus did not exist.
In a Facebook post and subsequent comments this Friday (10), the Diocese of Noto insisted that Bishop Antonio Stagliano did not intend to destroy the dreams of youth two weeks before Christmas.
The diocese’s 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 media reports quoted Stagliano as saying during a recent religious festival that Santa Claus 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 sadness at this statement, which caused frustration among the younger ones, and I want to make it clear that Monsignor Stagliano’s intentions were quite different,” Paolino wrote on the diocesan’s Facebook page. . ,
“We certainly should not demolish children’s imaginations, but take good positive examples from them for life,” he continued.
“Therefore, Santa Claus is an effective image to convey the importance of giving, generosity, and sharing. But when this image loses its meaning, you can see Santa Claus, also known as consumerism, which refers to buying, The desire to buy, buy and re-buy is visible, so you have to reevaluate, giving it a new meaning.”
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