D'Oh!

After learning in June of this year that the terminally stupid folk at L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, had declared the film "The Blues Brothers" to be a catholic classic, I thought for sure they had scraped the bottom of the bullshit barrel. I found out that they hadn't. They still have more crap to fire from their clerical cannons, and they let loose a volley yesterday in the form of their assertion that Homer J. Simpson is catholic.
The pope's rag declared that "Few people know it and he does everything to hide it but it is true; Homer J. Simpson is Catholic." They went on to quote the Idiot Reverend Francesco Occhetta, who wrote an analysis discussing Homer and Bart's supposed conversion in the 2005 episode in which they meet with one Father Sean. They forgot to check on the veracity of Occhetta's analysis. The producer of the show has since made it clear that the two characters only considered converting. Before they took the step, however, they gave their heads a shake and declined the experience.
Many of today's youth are no longer being raised to accept as gospel truth every bit of verbal diarrhea that the papacy is prone to. They are more likely to question, and to turn away when the answers don't ring true. Membership in the catholic club is falling off. With the question looming large of just who is going to drop enough coins in the collection basket to support the opulent lifestyle to which the catholic hierarchy is accustomed, the vatican is becoming desperate to find someone, anyone, who has cred with this generation of lax laity; someone they can point to as a believer the common folk can rally behind. That's why the Blues Brothers were given the farcical label back in June. That's why L'Osservatore announced that the Simpsons is "among the few programs for children in which the Christian faith, religion and the question of God are recurring themes."
This would be worth, maybe, a lame little chuckle or two if it weren't all so bloody pathetic.