The ever hip L’Osservatore Romano lauds Homer Simpson as a model Catholic.
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What is going on with that Vatican rag? How lame is the editor? How lame is the article they cite from the Jesuit magazine La Civilita Cattolica? What has happened to the Church in Italy? Sheesh!
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L’Osservatore Romano marked the 20th anniversary of “The Simpsons” in its Oct. 17 edition by lauding the popular television show for taking religious faith seriously, although often irreverently.
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And, although "few know it, and he does everything to hide it ... it's true: Homer J. Simpson is Catholic," according to newspaper.
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The newspaper cited an analysis in the Oct. 16 issue of the Italian Jesuit magazine, La Civilita Cattolica.
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In it, Father Francesco Occhetta examined a Catholic-themed episode from 2005, "The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star," in which Homer and his son Bart are befriended by a priest named Father Sean, and consider conversion to Catholicism. "The Simpsons remain among the few TV programs for kids in which the Christian faith, religion and the question on God are recurrent themes," Father Occhetta wrote. - CNA
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I like The Simpsons just as much as any other mindless, dysfunctional, adult-child of alcoholic mental cases, but Homer and his family are so not Catholic role-models. And the show is not my idea of an appropriate kids show.
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Model Catholic? Well this is just a bunch of BS. Was this not the same show that had to modify one of it's episodes after it portrayed the Catholic Church in less than favorable circumstances? Yes, I do occasionally watch the show, but as something comedic WITHOUT a single nuance to Catholicism. What is this Father Francesco Occhetta thinking, and he just trying to score a guest appearance on the show?
ReplyDeleteRe: the Simpsons at church, this clip is pretty funny:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=10418
Of course you have to have been around in the 70's to get the I.Ron Butterfly part!
Reminds me of the movie reviewer who used to post reviews on the USCCB website - didn't he applaud Brokeback Mountain?
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show that us Catholics are a weird bunch at times.
Even you, Terry! And especially me!
I watched the family guy last night for the first time. It was filthy. I wouldn't even consider whispering the dialog to my blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteA priest told my children once that they couldn't watch the simpsons so ever since then I made our disgruntled children respect what our priest had to say- Gotta learn sometime.
The Simpson's make me sick. Just like the secular world makes me sick.
ReplyDeleteThis theme hits the nail on the head: I am 'IN' the world, but not
'OF' it. The catholic church is 100% 'of' the world today. Nothing else accounts for this nonsense. This is only one of many reasons why I am not a Vatican 2 Catholic.
I was indoctrinated into their singular/secular view of 'religion', but rejected it for the sake of my salvation.
May I say this? Coming out of the beer store last night....I saw a very young man with a sign on the back of his jacket: a huge RED Latin cross circled with a diagonal line thru' it. You know what that means. But just in case you didn't, it said below:
BAD RELIGION. He couldn't have been more that 9 years old on 9/11.
Betcha HE watches the Simpsons !
Having said that, I confess...
I do sing Homer's Beer song
on the way to the store...sung to the famous tune from 'Sound of Music'......................
Doh: the stuff that buys me beer; Ray: da'guy dat sells me beer;
Me: da guy dat drinks da beer;
Far: da distance to my beer;...)
only because I need to drown my sorrows in this vale of tears....
Thaks Terry for letting me rant. Your blog presents the deeper things.
Walter
Is a "Vatican 2 Catholic" someone who accepts the legitimacy of the Council and its documents and the authority of the popes since then?
ReplyDeleteOr is it someone who lives the "Spirit of Vatican 2", ignoring the entire Church before that.
Because the first is called a Catholic, and the second is called a heretic or an idiot or both.
By the way, Bad Religion is a punk band. They're no good, and they are mental midgets.
ReplyDeleteI guess you're right
ReplyDeleteThe Novus Ordo church at its finest.
ReplyDeleteHi Merc,
ReplyDeleteLabels are sad: the Vat 2 people I refer to are those who 'change' the church to do what is contrary to it, while staying in it.
All the official stuff can be interpreted according to tradition, but it just isn't. It is changed to turn the church 'Of' the world and not simple 'in' it to convert it to God's will.
Example: the document about the church in modern world, turns into the modern(ist) church as the pure service to the world...exemplified in this Observatore Romano article.
Thanks above all for clarifying that horrible 'Bad Religion' sign. I am completely ignorant of youth culture and its path toward the enemy...
all said with as much compassion as possible. No offence: I just like the issues Terry exposes.
I must admit, I have a "sick" sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteThe Simpsons were unknown to me until I made a home visit (after several sequestered years in monastic life) and my youngest sister (who has an even "sicker", dry, wicked and nasty sense of humor than me) introduced me to them.
I'm an agnostic about all of this...some of it is just plain stupid, irreverent and idiotic...but isn't that American culture?
The very "slicing" way they can "bring down" anyone in anyplace can be, on the one hand, a good "stress reliever"; on the other hand, it can be just plain wrong.
Okay, I've scandalized enough of the faithful, I'll shut up!