The bishop of Noto in Sicily publicly apologized after his ill-advised comments drew major backlash last week. The bishop shocked schoolchildren by telling them that Santa Claus wasn't real. 

Antonio Staglianò was speaking on the Feast of Saint Nicholas – the initial inspiration for the giving Santa Claus – about the commercialization of Christmas deflating the true religious meaning. In answering a question on the topic, he dropped the bombshell of all bombshells by telling the children Father Christmas was a hoax. 

"No, Santa Claus does not exist," Staglianò said, per multiple Sicilian media outlets. "In fact, I would add that the red of the suit he wears was chosen by Coca-Cola exclusively for advertising purposes."

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Yikes. The comments soon went viral, prompting the Diocese of Noto to post an explanation and apology on its Facebook page, written by Staglianò's press secretary Father Alessandro Paolini.

"First of all, on behalf of the Bishop, I express regret for this statement that has disappointed the children, and want to clarify that this was not at all Mr. Staglianò's intention," the statement said. "(The intention was to) reflect on the meaning of Christmas and the beautiful traditions that accompany it with greater awareness and regain the beauty of a Christmas now increasingly 'commercial' and 'de-Christianized.'"

"If we can all draw a lesson, young or old, from the figure of Santa Claus (which originates with Bishop St. Nicholas) it is this: fewer gifts to 'create' and 'consume' and more 'gifts' to share."

Stagliano further explained his original stance in an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica. He said: "I didn't tell them that Santa Claus doesn't exist, but we talked about the need to distinguish what is real from what is not. A real fact has come out, namely that Christmas no longer belongs to Christians. …the Christmas atmosphere of lights and shopping has taken the place of Christmas."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bishop sorry for saying Santa isn't real, red suit is Coca-Cola scheme

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