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The Vatican has faith in 'Simpsons'
By CATHLEEN FALSANI
Published: 12:00 a.m., Saturday, October 23, 2010

"Few people know it," an article in the official Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano proclaimed this week, "and he does everything he can to hide it ... but it is true: Homer J. Simpson is a Catholic."

Or so says the Rev. Francesco Occhetta, the Jesuit priest who arrived at that conclusion after analyzing a 2005 episode of "The Simpsons" called "The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest-Star."

Hold on a tick, padre.

Not to cast aspersions on your theological sleuthing, but last time I checked, Homer was a member of the First Church of Springfield, an outpost of what its pastor, the Rev. Lovejoy, claims is the "one true faith": The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism.

L'Osservatore Romano has caused a bit of a religious kerfuffle by laying claim to the first family of American television. It also surprised readers who are more accustomed to discussing the intricacies of Byzantine theology and papal encyclicals than the creedal leanings of cartoon characters.

"'The Simpsons' remain among the few programs for children in which the Christian faith, religion and the question of God are recurring themes," the paper said. "The family recites prayers together before meals and, in its own way, believes in heaven."

With that, L'Osservatore Romano gave "The Simpsons," the longest-running prime-time television show in American history, the next best thing to an official papal blessing: Two prayerful thumbs up.

"Skeptical realism seems to prevail in the Simpson stories," the paper said. "Young generations of television watchers are educated to not let themselves be fooled. The moral? None. But one knows that a world without easy illusions is a more human world and, perhaps, more Christian."

While the Vatican has arrived a tad late to the party, nonetheless, for a place that counts time in centuries not years, the Holy See's engagement with the worldwide cultural phenomenon that is "The Simpsons" is well ahead of schedule.

This is the second time the newspaper has praised "The Simpsons." Last December, the paper congratulated the cartoon series on its 20th anniversary, describing it as a "tender and irreverent, scandalous and ironic, boisterous and profound, philosophical and sometimes even theological, nutty synthesis of pop culture and of the lukewarm and nihilistic American middle class."

Since a new editor took the helm in 2007, L'Osservatore Romano has taken an interest in pop culture, noting the 40th anniversary of the Beatles "White Album" (and forgiving the late John Lennon for claiming to be "more popular than Jesus"), Harry Potter, "Avatar" and the music of U2........................>>>>...............>>>>..............http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/The-Vatican-has-faith-in-Simpsons-719154.php