A Roman Catholic diocese in Italy has been forced to apologise after its bishop told a group of children Santa wasn't real.
Bishop Antonio Stagliano made the comments during a recent religious festival where he was trying to explain the true meaning of Christmas and the story of St Nicholas, said Rev Alessandro Paolino, the communications director for the Diocese of Noto.
Italian media quoted Stagliano as saying that Santa doesn't exist and his red costume was "created by Coca-Cola for publicity".
"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 on Friday.
"We certainly must not demolish the imagination of children, but draw good examples from it that are positive for life.
"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."
The comments from parents on the Noto Facebook page were scathing with several welcoming the bishop’s attempt to focus on the Catholic meaning of Christmas but others faulted Stagliano for interfering with family traditions and celebrations and crushing the spirits of children.
"You are the demonstration that, when it comes to families, children and family education, you don't understand a thing," a commenter, identified as Mary Avola, wrote.
