ROME, Italy (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed the traditional value of the Nativity scene while Italian bishops promoted “updated” uses marked by an ideological bent.

The Saturday edition of Avvenire — the daily newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference — gave space to an article by theologian Marco Vergottini on the theme of contemporary Nativity scenes, proposing symbolic reinterpretations that go so far as to include representations devoid of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, as a sign of closeness to migrants, the poor, and marginalized groups.

Vergottini, former assistant to the controversial Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, is the author of an article published in Avvenire entitled “The Right Nativity Scene? It Allows Us to Recognize That God Is Still Being Born.” The text takes its cue from a case that occurred in the Archdiocese of Boston, where the pastor of St. Susanna parish in Dedham set up a Nativity scene without the Holy Family to denounce raids against illegal immigrants carried out by U.S. federal authorities.

Vergottini places this episode within a broader context of modern reinterpretations of the Nativity scene, ranging from figurines of famous personalities to representations defined as “creative,” maintaining that the Nativity scene is not a simple devotional object but a “domestic theology.” The text states that many communities, in Italy and abroad, have chosen to depict in the Nativity scene migrants, the homeless, families waiting for residence permits, or healthcare workers, as a way of updating the evangelical message.

“Many communities have begun to include places and people of today in the Nativity scene,” Vergottini wrote. “Exhausted migrants on a wooden boat, homeless people crouched under a portico, families waiting for a residence permit, nurses keeping vigil through the night, and—why not—that crowd of the least who in our cities is becoming ever more numerous. This is not a concession to ideology, but an act of evangelical fidelity.”

READ: Catholic parish refuses to take down anti-ICE Nativity scene despite bishop’s orders

On the same day, however, Pope Leo XIV addressed Nativity scene makers gathered in the Vatican for the Jubilee, forcefully reiterating that the Nativity scene is not a sociological exercise but the proclamation of the Mystery of the Incarnation.

“The Nativity scene is an important sign: it reminds us that we are part of a marvelous adventure of Salvation in which we are never alone and that, as Saint Augustine said, God became man so that man might become God,” Pope Leo XIV stated in the Hall of Benedictions while meeting Nativity scene makers and participants of living Nativity scenes.

In his address the Pontiff recalled the origin of the Nativity scene, born in Greccio in 1223 at the hands of St. Francis of Assisi. The Pope also recalled the teaching of Benedict XVI on the Child Jesus who “comes without weapons, without force,” and of Pope Francis on the spiritual meaning of the Nativity scene in his he apostolic letter Admirabile signum.

The Pope also emphasized the missionary character of living representations, defining the participants as “pilgrims of hope” and reiterating that, whether in static or living form, the Nativity scene remains a sign of the Incarnation and of God’s closeness to humanity.

In recent times, there has been no shortage of initiatives that have sparked debate over the symbolic use of Nativity elements. Among these is the case of a priest from Avellino, Italy, who proposed the use of a “Jesus girl in pieces” as a symbolic gesture of solidarity on the issue of women in the Church and with children affected by the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.