Is a bear catholic?

does the pope shit in the woods?
a linguistic analysis for posterity

my generation - the self indulgent baby boom, the generation which says, til death do us part, but especially right now, or at least til this new feeling goes away - has two stock replies to signify yes to an all too obvious question, what a later generation conveniently shortened to, "duh". They are - Is the pope catholic? and Does a bear shit in the woods? Both of these responses lie next to each other in the brain, being interchangeable. On an old phonograph playing a worn out record, sometimes the needle would jump to the next track, skipping lines. That is the origin of the saying, does the pope shit in the woods. Its a jumping of tracks in an aging baby boomers mind, using rote responses to call back the crazy years. However, Are Bears Catholic? is a legitimate theological question, because it is possible they were blessed by the same Irish priest who said to the Maya, domini, domini, domini, youre all catholic now.