The be a cartoon character is apparently divine in the Vatican's eyes. The Catholic church's house organ, L'Osservatore Roman, has declared that “Homer J Simpson is a Catholic” in an article titled “Homer and Bart Are Catholics.”

To drink on Saturday night and worship on Sunday morning, a la Homer, is indeed quite Catholic: So too was Homer's near-affair with a co-worker, his apologies after after angry outbursts, and his neck-chocking corporal punishment on little Bart. Amen.

What's strange about the church's apparent pronouncement (via the Village Voice) that the L.A.-bred Simpsons characters are true believers is that it's clear to us the church they attend, with Rev. Killjoy at the helm, is decidedly Christian.

Is this a hostile takeover by the Roman clergy?

The Simpsons, by the way, got its start as part of Matt Groening's “Life In Hell” comic strip, which launched in weekly newspapers at the Los Angeles Reader and later found itself right here at the Weekly.

The comic was deeply anti-establishment, and we can't imagine Groening ever conjuring up Catholic motives for his bulbous, on-paper personalities.

What's more, as far as we know, Bart was never molested.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.