The Deacon's Bench
The bishop of the Belleville Diocese in southern Illinois apparently had two very different visits to Catholic schools this week.
At Our Lady Queen of Peace in Belleville, he told fifth- and sixth-grade students that there is no Santa Claus and they should not celebrate Halloween, according to parents.
At Blessed Sacrament School, he answered students’ questions about clergy sex abuse and famous people he had met, and asked what they would dress as for Halloween, the principal said.
Bishop Edward Braxton’s office did not offer any comment to messages left on Wednesday afternoon. The Queen of Peace School office confirmed the bishop had been at the school Tuesday but had no further comment.
“It was something that shouldn’t have been said,” one parent said Wednesday of the bishop’s remarks to the fifth- and sixth-graders.
Boyd Ahlers, father of a fifth-grade boy and sixth-grade girl, said his son had believed in Santa.
“He doesn’t believe now,” Ahlers said. “I told (my son). It was something that shouldn’t have been said. (Santa Claus) was something that was done for the child, the joy of the child to experience Christmas the spirit of Christmas, and eventually he would have learned.”
Parents and others took to Facebook on Wednesday to express their anger and frustration over Braxton’s remarks, with many saying he ruined the holiday and the spirit behind it for little children. Several contacted the Belleville News-Democrat to confirm their children reported he said Santa was not real, but declined to speak on the record.
Another parent of a sixth-grade boy remained angry Wednesday afternoon that his parental responsibility had been usurped by Braxton.
“It’s my job to tell (my son), not his,” said Ray Schott, who also has a daughter in kindergarten. He and his wife hope to keep the news from their daughter.
“These kids are exposed to so much, so early. (Santa) is the last pure thing in a child’s life. It hurts. He had no right to do any of that,” Schott said.
UPDATE: Another report, citing the diocese’s school superintendent, disputes the account in the Chicago Tribune. Snip:
“I was quite surprised to learn that somehow some individuals incorrectly thought the bishop was going around the school telling little children that there is no Santa Claus. This is simply not true!” Jonathan Birdsong said in a statement Thursday afternoon. Birdsong was not immediately available for further comment on Thursday afternoon.
“I was personally present in the classroom and I know exactly what the Bishop said and the context in which it was said,” wrote Birdsong. He called it “a complete misunderstanding” and stressed that the subjects of Santa and Halloween were brought up during talks with fifth- and sixth-grade students, not the younger grades.
Birdsong said the bishop had told the students that children in the past dressed as saints to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve and that the “good works of St. Nicholas was gradually changed into the story of Santa Claus.”
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