Bishop irked by nativity scene dinghy

(ANSA) - Bologna, December 4 - A bishop has criticized the setting up of a nativity scene with a migrant dinghy in the middle of it in Castenaso near Bologna.
    "Nativity scenes are fine but leave the manger alone" Monsignor Ernesto Vecchi, auxiliary bishop emeritus of Bologna, said on the subject of a nativity scene in the small town near the Emilian capital. Castenaso mayor Stefano Sermenghi chose to put Baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary in a dinghy to draw greater attention to the plight of migrants and the need to help them. "The nucleus of a nativity scene," he added in an interview with the local edition of 'il Resto del Carlino, "calls for the child in swaddling clothing inside a manger and this must be fully complied with." The photo of this nativity scene will also be used by the Castenaso municipality as the background for Christmas postcards.