Television's most dysfunctional family "The Simpsons" have received the heavenly seal of approval, as the Roman Catholic Church has praised the animated series for its dealings with religion.
The Vatican's newspaper L'Osservatore Romano published an article on Dec 22 lauding the long running US animated show insisting "many today wouldn't know how to laugh", if the series hadn't been aired, reports huffingtonpost.com.
The newspaper story insisted the show's success is due to its "realistic and intelligent writing" and thanked the show's producers for depicting family patriarch Homer's struggle with his own faith through its 20 years on the small screen.
The article added: "Homer finds in God his last refuge, even though he sometimes gets His name sensationally wrong. But these are just minor mistakes, after all, the two know each other well."
L'Osservatore Romano recently paid tribute to "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", for highlighting the "sacrifice" needed for good to triumph over evil.