“The Simpsons” are known as a comical version of the usual house family, but a recent Vatican newspaper claims they are also a family of Catholics.
Last weekend, the newspaper posted its story on the TV show, “The Simpsons,” hoping to connect with the public. While the show’s producer believed the claim went a tad too far, the idea that the Simpsons are a Catholic family may have some truth to it.
St. Thomas theology professor Massimo Faggioli said the anthropologic view on “The Simpsons” has many connections with the Catholic family. The Simpson family members’ arrogance shows that they are weak and vulnerable to sin, Faggioli said.
Because of that vulnerability, the Simpsons have to work hard to achieve grace, just as the Catholic tradition teaches, Faggioli said. In a way, he thinks the Vatican article is correct. Because the show’s producers are Mennonites, a denomination of Christianity close to Catholicism, it’s no surprise that Catholic themes appear in “The Simpsons,” Faggioli said.
However, students on campus have not seen the connection.
“They don’t do anything to really show that they are Catholic,” freshman Joe Anderson said. Anderson said the show has the random interactions of family life, but the Catholicism is minimal at best.
“They stick together,” junior Mark Banks said. “They have high familial values.”
According to the BBC, the Vatican has not responded to the producers’ contention that “The Simpsons” are not Catholic.
Brian Woitte contributed to this story.
Nathan Spencer can be reached at spen9079@stthomas.edu.
Just a thought…
“Who are you, to lay down who is, and who is not a Christian [or in this case, Catholic]? May not many a man who cannot believe these doctrines be far more truly a Christian [Catholic], far closer to the spirit of Christ, than some who do? … When a word ceases to be a term of description and becomes merely a term of praise, it no longer tells you facts about the object: it only tells you about the speaker’s attitude to that object. … It is not for us to say who, in the deepest sense, is or is not close to the spirit of Christ [or a Catholic]. We do not see into men’s hearts. We cannot judge, and are indeed forbidden to judge. … When a man who accepts the Christian [or specifically Catholic] doctrine lives unworthy of it, it is much clearer to say he is a bad Christian [Catholic] than to say he is not a Christian [or Catholic].”
– C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity