Christmas shocker: Sicilian bishop declares Santa as non-existent

A group of happy school children, all aged under 9 years, had gone visiting the Santissimo Salvatore Basilica in the town of Noto in Sicily, Italy. Only a lady school teacher was accompanying them. When they walked into church, they had no idea some of them might leave crying! The blame goes to the strict Bishop of Noto, who gave the kids a long lecture on how Santa Claus is actually just a story.  

What did the bishop tell the children?  
Bishop Antonio Staglianò’s tirade against Santa Claus has been widely reported in international media. He stated clearly that Santa is an imaginary character, going on to say that the red colour of his coat was chosen by Coca-Cola for advertising purposes. He pointed out how Santa does not visit poorer kids. If the patron saint of children was really keen on rewarding well-behaved kids, he would have left something for a poor but good kid. But that never happens, the Bishop said, so Santa is only a figment of imagination supported by parents who can afford the gifts. The accompanying teacher later said that the kids were crestfallen and she wished he had left out the topic of Santa. In fact, when a girl said her parents had told her Santa was real, the Bishop flatly told her they were lying.  

Has a church father denied Santa before?  
Unfortunately, yes. Italy is home to the Roman Catholic faith, and almost every year, priests of this sect insist that Italians separate Christ and St. Nicholas. They had stated many times that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus Christ. It can also be celebrated as a Feast Day of St. Nicholas, but the legendary Santa Claus with his reindeer-drawn sled, bag of expensive gifts, bells etc is a marketing tactic.   

In 2019, a priest in the northern town of Magliano Alpi told children that no man wearing red came to deliver gifts. In 2018, in the Sardinian city of Quartu Sant’Elena, another priest rudely told small children that Santa Claus was in fact their parents, making some of them cry.  

Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has not commented on the current incident. Nor has he tried to defend Santa Claus’s myth from the attack of his priests.