It looks like the sometimes-irreverent Homer Simpson is getting a little reverence from…The Vatican?!
"Few people know it, and he does everything to hide it, but it is true: Homer J. Simpson is a Catholic," states L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's daily newspaper, in a recent article.
But the Simpson patriarch isn't the only member of the family whose praises are being sung…
The paper also considers Homer's son, Bart, as being Catholic as well.
It proceeds to back up these claims by referring to a study made by a Jesuit priest of a 2005 episode titled "The Simpsons, The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star," in which Homer and Bart contemplate converting to Catholicism after meeting a priest voiced by Liam Neeson.
"The Simpsons are among the few TV programs for children in which Christian faith, religion, and questions about God are recurrent themes," states the article, adding that the family "recites prayers before meals and, in their own peculiar way, believes in the life thereafter."
This is actually the second time the animated series has been mentioned by the Vatican, which wrote favorably of the show's approach to religion last December.
(Hmm, no word on that episode where Homer thinks a waffle stuck to the ceiling is God, and, when told by Marge that it's really just a waffle, he gulps down the syrupy treat and declares it "sacrilicious.")
Some, however, are questioning the Catholic claims—namely, Simpsons executive producer Al Jean.
"We've pretty clearly shown that Homer is not Catholic," Jean tells EW. "I really don't think he could go without eating meat on Fridays—for even an hour."