View all comments (4) - Comment on this story
JOHN LENNON - VATICAN FORGIVES LENNON FOR JESUS COMMENT
NEWS BY ARTIST ALPHABETICALLY |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JOHN LENNON Gallery
VATICAN FORGIVES LENNON FOR JESUS COMMENT
The Vatican has formally forgiven late BEATLE JOHN LENNON for declaring the Fab Four "more popular than Jesus" - more than 40 years after the comments were made.
The Imagine legend, who was shot dead in New York in 1980, angered Christians and religious leaders with his controversial remarks in 1966.
He told a journalist, "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I do not know what will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity... We're more popular than Jesus now."
At the time, the comments caused uproar and officials of the Roman Catholic Church took offence to Lennon's claims.
But on Saturday (22Nov08), the Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, pardoned Lennon in an editorial - blaming the group's immense rise to fame for his comments.
In a special issue marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' White Album, the publication's editors write, "After so many years, it sounds merely like the boasting of an English working-class lad struggling to cope with unexpected success."
The article goes on to praise the pop icons, saying only "snobs" would dismiss the Beatles' songs.
22 November 2008 14:21
JOHN LENNON News Letter
Subscribe to this news alert service to receive news and reviews on JOHN LENNON
Sign Up Now
View all comments (4) - Comment on this story
screen name:
Carljo 
(1)
posted on 23/11/2008 01:09
Wow! thanks vatican. What I'd like to know is what is Lennon being forgiven
for? Guess you haven't seen the interview where John explains himself. He never
compared them to Jesus or anything. He just said at the time they seemed more
popular. More for England then good Christian America. How do you think he got
this conclusion? More people,it seemed to him,were attending Beatles concerts
than going to church and he only read this and made a conclusion.The mistake he
really made was saying his comment off the cuff(like we all do)it's just that
his got published oh yeah, a month or two later from when he said it.In my view
fans are at fault too. If you look at fan history it will show that many,many
silly fans would take their invalids,sick,and mamed, mentally handicapped loved
ones to the Beatles to be touched by them as if they could do some sort of
miracle healing.This is how crazy it got. Is it any wonder they wanted to stop
touring. So who should be forgiven REALLY?..John Lennon or the fans that looked
to them as idols? John just said what he said and was taken wrong or out of
context. He knew they weren't perfect,just a good little rock n roll band. John
had character flaws and the Beatles were not role models by no means. The point
I am trying to make is John isn't the only one that needs forgiven in this
issue. Maybe fans too.
By the way isn't the Vatican only about 40 years to late...That's just me view
luv..peace & luv
Carljo out
screen name:
outhere ( 1)
posted on 22/11/2008 22:21
The Vatican -- through its official newspaper -- "forgives" John Lennon for a
comment he made "against" Jesus Christ back in 1966. So, sins against Jesus --
Who is God, by the way -- are forgiven (or not) by the Vatican since Jesus
ain't around to take care of it Himself, I reckon? Two thoughts come to mind:
(1) Jesus already took care of every "whosoever speaketh a word against the Son
of man" before He left last time (Mat.12:32), and (2) since it's apparently so
easy for the Vatican to say "thy sins are forgiven thee" then let's send over
some paraplegics/quadriplegics & see some "rise up and walk" action! (Luke 5:
23-25) Suggestion: if we decide to let a lame friend down through the roof, we
might wanna think twice about busting out the ceiling at the Sistine Chapel.
