Santa Claus, an Ordained Anglican Bishop, Rips Catholic Church

Talk about piling on -- now even Santa Claus is taking shots at the Catholic Church.

An explanation, of course, is in order. It's not the jolly old elf who lives at the North Pole with toy-crafting elves and flying reindeer. No, Virginia, this is a decidedly more politicized Claus, an ordained bishop from Nevada with the likeness and legal name of his famous doppelganger.

And this Santa Claus is angry. Last week, in a scathing, widely distributed press release, Claus called out the church for its failure to institute sufficient reform in the wake of clergy sex abuse scandals. He also suggested that he may sue the church to force change."Bishop Santa intends 'to explore and utilize a variety of legal means,'" the statement read in part, "'to hold the Roman Catholic Church, especially the pope and Vatican, accountable for the suffering of many thousands of vulnerable children at the hands of clergy, straight and gay, young and old, celibate or not.'"

But sue the Catholic Church? Who is this Santa Claus?

According to Washoe County, Nev., he's 63-year-old Thomas O'Connor, a Lake Tahoe man who legally changed his name to Santa Claus (no middle initial) in 2005. A look at his website -- yes, Virginia, Claus has a website -- reveals that he was recently elevated to the title of missionary bishop in the Apostles' Anglican Church, an ecumenical Christian denomination based in Ohio and Michigan.

AOL News spoke with the presiding bishop of the Apostles' Anglican Church, Bishop Lawrence Cameron, and confirmed that Claus is, indeed, a bishop. As a missionary bishop, Claus does not preside over a geographical territory or diocese.

AOL News also contacted representatives for two of the nation's largest governing bodies of Anglicanism -- the Anglican Church in North America and the Episcopal Church -- and neither had heard of Claus' organization.

In an interview with AOL News, Claus explained why a man of his name and position would target the Catholic Church. "No one's stepped up to the plate. Of all people, why not Santa Claus?" ...

via Santa Claus, an Ordained Anglican Bishop, Rips Catholic Church.