"Santa Claus does not exist and Coca Cola uses his image to be credited as the bearer of healthy values".

So Antonio Staglianò, bishop of the Diocese of Noto, songwriter for pleasure, surprised everyone and broke the dreams of children in the basilica of SS. Salvatore, at the end of the Ephemeral Arts festival, which attracted children of all ages to the citizens.

"No, Santa Claus does not exist. On the contrary, I add that the red of the dress he wears was chosen by Coca Cola exclusively for advertising purposes," he said to the amazement of those who were listening to him. His words took the children by surprise but it was the grown-ups who generated a real storm on social media.

So much so that the monsignor himself returned to the subject: "I said that Santa Claus is not a historical person like St. Nicholas from whom the fictional character was taken - he explained -. I encouraged the younger ones to have a Santa Claus a more embodied idea to be able to better live the waiting and above all the exchange of gifts ".

Again: “With all due respect for the Coca Cola manufacturer who invented Santa Claus, the bishop's task is to announce evangelical charity, also through these symbols of popular culture. Children know that Santa Claus is dad or uncle. So no broken dreams ”.

Then the diocese also tried to run for cover on social media, where the controversy was unleashed. "In recent days - wrote Don Alessandro Paolino, responsible for social communications - a controversy has arisen because the bishop of Noto would have told a group of children that Santa Claus does not exist. smaller, wanting to specify that Monsignor Staglianò's intentions were quite different, that is to reflect with greater awareness on the meaning of Christmas and the beautiful traditions that accompany it ".

The bishop's intent, he added, “was to help children reflect more deeply on the meaning of gift, generosity and solidarity that should characterize Christmas, starting with the historical figure of St. Nicholas who dispensed gifts to the poorest. The teaching is this: the fewer gifts to give and consume, the more gifts to share, the bishop urged us to recover the beauty of a Christmas that is now increasingly commercial and de-Christianized ”.