It seems some form of an inappropriate religious Halloween costume ends up on an offensive costumes list every year. While there are some obvious no-nos when it comes to selecting a tasteful religious costume, we're still wondering … is there anything wrong with a basic priest costume? What about a pope? In Alabama, that outfit comes with a $500 fine. (Fraudulently dressing as a member of the clergy is illegal, according to section 13A-14-4 of Alabama code.)
But are all religious costumes offensive?
Halloween, though a mixture of pagan, Christian, civic, and cultural influences, is the night before Catholics celebrate the faithful who have lived and died, according to Loyola Press. And "hallow" means to make holy or sacred. It's not uncommon to find several Saint Francises and Mother Teresas running around during an All Saints Day school celebration. But what about that trick-or-treating pope?
Sister Julie of aNunsLife.org would likely give him the go-ahead. She writes that parents should use religious Halloween costumes as an opportunity to teach their children about religious life—and respect. "For example," she says, "be sure that rosaries aren’t slung at fellow trick-or-treaters."
But, what happens when three fraternity brothers dress up as the pope, Jesus, and a priest?
“If you are going to a costume party and the wearing of a nun (or other religious) costume is done out of genuine respect, then I don’t think there is a problem with that,” Sister Julie says. "Unfortunately, the vast majority of adults wearing religious costumes at Halloween are purely for pranks, shock value, and laughs.”
So, the answer? We're still not so sure.
But we will say that Pope Francis seemed very OK with this baby pope.
Image: Flickr Photo cc by quinn.anya
