Moscow Patriarchate Priest Says Okily-Dokily to "The Simpsons"

If you like the comedy of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, you're not alone, Neighbor-ino! Interfax quotes Moscow Patriarchate spokesman, Fr. Mikhail Prokopenko, thus:

I would not say that absolutely all cartoons shown on 2x2 are immoral and offensive. In fact, some of the cartoons shown there can even be called Christian and promoting family values - take, for instance, The Simpsons, a cartoon series that I, for one, really like.

This has been steadily less true as the years go on, but it's still one of the few cartoons that references God or church at all. Some of the episodes stand out: especially the episode in which Bart sells his soul, regrets his loss, and Lisa buys it back for him. (Kinsman Redeemer, anyone?) Ned Flanders has become an emblematic Christian fundamentalist, and Sunday Schools have studied the series. I'm not sure I'd use them the way this minister does, but if one must waste time on television, "The Simpsons" has something of an imprimatur....

(Hat tip: On the Temple Doorstep)