Italian diocese apologizes after children told Santa not real

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A Roman Catholic diocese in Sicily has apologized after a bishop ruined Christmas for many children by telling them Santa Claus does not exist.

The diocese of Noto said on Facebook that Bishop Antonio Stagliano didn’t mean to break the news to the children a couple of 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 St. Nicholas, a bishop who gave gifts to the poor and was persecuted by a Roman emperor, according to reports.

Stagliano was quoted saying during a recent religious festival that Santa Claus was not real and that his red costume was created by the Coca-Cola company for publicity.

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“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,” Paolino added.