Homer Simpson secretly Catholic?

It was hard to surf the Net today without seeing a report, based on a story in the Daily Telegraph, that the Vatican, through L'Osservatore Romano, has praised The Simpsons as "among the few TV programmes for children in which Christian faith, religion, and questions about God are recurrent themes".

I'm told the story was carried on Fox News, which I never watch. [Walt's tongue was not in his cheek when he wrote that. I checked. Ed.] I did see the story in the Washington Post, the Toronto Star and Time. The link in Time goes to Orange News, a UK website. I've been wandering through the e-maze for hours and keep coming back to the Daily Telegraph story.

But is it true? The Telegraph refers to an article in L'Osservatore Romano headlined "Homer e Bart sono cattolici" ("Homer and Bart are Catholics"). Sadly, the Torygraph provides neither a date nor a link, making it impossible to check. Links in the Post and the Star took this searcher to the Vatican newspaper, but I searched through it in vain for the promised story.

My scepticism is not assuaged by the Telegraph's synopsis of the 2005 Simpsons episode "The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star". Yes, in that episode, Homer and Bart are tempted (by such benefits as pancake suppers) to convert to the True Faith. But any real fan would know that they are "rescued" at the last moment by a team of deprogrammers, comprising Marj, Rev. Lovejoy and (of course) Ned Flanders. Sounds to me as if someone in London (or maybe the Vatican) is making this up!

So...did anyone out there actually see the original article? I want so much to believe it, but the modern Church has made a questioner out of me. I believe the Pope is Catholic (and that other thing about bears) but when it comes to Homer, I want to see proof!