Homer brains my damage

The Simpsons of the eponymous cartoon series are Catholic, the media informed us recently, on the basis of an article in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, which in turn cited the Jesuit periodical, La Civiltà Cattolica (which actually didn’t say that the yellow family is Catholic).

La Civiltà did say that The Simpsons is “among the few television programmes for young people in which, although sometimes treated with a certain superficiality, the Christian faith, religious practice and the question of God are recurring themes.” Why? “The Simpsons is an equal-opportunity satire: it shrewdly targets all sorts of foibles and hypocrisies, not just religious ones. Perhaps it’s also because the show is exceptionally aware of the significant place religion has in the American landscape.”

I’ve always felt a strange affinity with The Simpsons. But are they Catholic? Yes they are sinful, repentant, loving (especially towards each other) and try to get by without doing too much damage in the world. They also tend to unconsciously introduce and spread goodness in the world using the vehicle of humour. But are they Catholic? If so, what kind of Catholic are they?

I’m sure most conservative Catholics would call the Simpsons “Cafeteria Catholics” (CC). The term has been in use at least since around the release of Humanae vitae, the encyclical by Pope Paul VI that reaffirmed the Church’s opposition to the use of artificial birth control.

Generally, the terminology of CC is used against those who do not see doctrines in quite the same way as those who are applying the term. And depending on whom you are talking to, a CC is also an individual who is poorly catechised, from a different rite, one who picks and chooses what he or she believes in regard to their Catholic faith (or what those accused of being a CC might call exercising the conscience). It is said that CCs deny, or mutilate, revealed truths in order to justify their supposedly sinful lifestyles.

I’ve recently heard somewhere that the current pope too might be CC, because he encourages the use of condoms in particular situations. But Homer, if he was Catholic, would certainly be CC.

Recall one of his arguments: “I’m not a bad guy. I work hard and I love my kids. So why should I spend half my Sunday hearing about how I’m going to hell?” Homer later concludes: “So I figure I should try to live right and worship you in my own way.” And it turns out, according to Homer, that God has no problem with that.

But this is a too individualistic and Protestant attitude most Catholics, if you ask me, would not subscribe too. The Vatican certainly would not be pleased if Catholics suddenly took that attitude towards the Mass.

Again, when Marge asks the Reverend Timothy Lovejoy—the smarmy, amorphously Protestant pastor of the First Church of Springfield—if he would conduct Last Rites for gravely ill Grandpa Simpson, he replies: “That’s Catholic, Marge. You might as well ask me to do a voodoo dance.” And I’m positively sure that Marge favours the ordination of women as priests.

Also, the New York-based Catholic League was not impressed by the episode featuring the following exchange in the Simpsons’ car while driving home from a church service. Bart: “I’m starving. Mom, can we go Catholic so we can get communion wafers and booze?” Mom: “No, no one is going Catholic. Three children is enough, thank you.”

In the world of the Simpsons, with all their faults, “God is omnipotent, capricious and responsive”. This, to me, sounds like the God of the Old Testament.

I doubt also if the Simpsons believe in the magisterium, hence I’m more inclined to go with Beth Keller in my conclusion: “While it may not completely resonate with the evangelical Judaeo-Christian belief system, The Simpsons does portray a family searching for moral and theological ideals.”

It would then seem that about the only thing Catholic about Homer is that he has a problem with gay people. Homer: “I like my beer cold, my TV loud and my homosexuals flaming.”

My personal favourite thing about The Simpsons is the effective manner by which Homer uses his ignorance to be brilliant. “Lisa, vampires are make-believe, like elves, gremlins, and eskimos.”

In Homer’s words: “I hope I didn’t brain my damage.”