Update Date: 2008/12/24 12:05

A Catholic priest in Italy was heavily criticized by parents after he honestly told children that Santa Claus does not exist.

Father "Botino" from the Sacred Heart Church in the northern Italian city of "Novara" told children during a Sunday children's mass earlier this month that Santa Claus is a fabrication and has nothing to do with Jesus Christ.

Many parents fiercely criticized the priest for ruining their children's Christmas. However, Father "Botino" stated that he did not intend to hurt anyone and that it was his duty to make the congregation understand that "Santa Claus" is unrelated to the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. He also mentioned that if given the chance, he would explain that "Santa Claus" is a fairy tale, just like "Snow White" and "Cinderella," and he did not expect such an honest revelation to provoke such fierce criticism.

Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 081224/ 1/ 1bqil. html