How Homer Simpson’s Anti-Hero Status Divided the Catholic Church
It may have taken him several decades, a brief stint with heresy and multiple run-ins with Satan himself, but Homer Simpson has finally achieved what only Martin Luther, left-handedness and child sex abuse scandals have before him — serving as a dividing line between Catholics around the globe.
Unlike his Protestant predecessors, Homer’s ascent to Catholic controversy began not by nailing his 95 theses of Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism to the hallowed doors of Lard Lad Donuts, but rather through Father Francesco Occhetta, who dubbed Springfield’s mediocre-est as one of his own in an infamous 2010 article for Vatican City’s daily newspaper.
“Few know it, and he does everything to hide it, (but) it's true: Homer J. Simpson is Catholic,” read the controversial piece in L’Osservatore Romano celebrating the series’ 20th anniversary. “The Simpsons remain among the few TV programs for kids in which the Christian faith, religion and the question on God are recurrent themes.”
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But even as Father Occhetta urged families to take a detour through Springfield — “Parents shouldn’t be afraid to let their children watch the adventures of the ‘little guys in yellow,’” he continued — not all Catholics were ready to adopt Duff Beer as the new blood of Christ.
“Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, trying real hard to be cool,” the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Tirdad Derakhshani wrote shortly after the original article left several members of the faith clutching their rosaries.
You don’t have to take Derakhshani’s word for it either. Longtime Simpsons showrunner Al Jean was also confused by his canon’s canonization, explaining that despite briefly considering converting to Catholicism in Season 16’s “The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star,” the Simpsons weren’t taking the sacrament any time soon.
“We’ve pretty clearly shown that Homer is not Catholic,” Jean explained. “I really don’t think he could go without eating meat on Fridays — for even an hour.”
Though the notable lack of Friday bacon may have pushed Catholicism off the table for Homer, we hear Movementarian-ism is always looking for new members.