Vatican forgives John Lennon for Jesus quip, page 1
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Topic started on 23-11-2008 @ 05:18 AM by stander

Vatican forgives John Lennon for Jesus quip


www.reuters.com
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican's newspaper has finally forgiven John Lennon for declaring that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, calling the remark a "boast" by a young man grappling with sudden fame.

The comment by Lennon to a London newspaper in 1966 infuriated Christians, particularly in the United States, some of whom burned Beatles' albums in huge pyres.

But time apparently heals all wounds.

"The remark by John Lennon, which triggered deep indignation mainly in the United States, after many years sounds only like a 'boast' by a young working-class Englishman faced with unexpected success, after growing up in the legend of Elvis and rock and roll," Vatican daily Osservatore Romano said.

The article, marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' "The White Album," went on to praise the pop band.

"The fact remains that 38 years after breaking up, the songs of the Lennon-McCartney brand have shown an extraordinary resistance to the passage of time, becoming a source of inspiration for more than one generation of pop musicians," it said.

Lennon was murdered in New York in 1980.

(visit the link for the full news article)


reply posted on 23-11-2008 @ 06:02 AM by Nox Vulpes
reply to post by stander


Very interesting! This is the kind of story that gets my gears going. Lennon (one of my favourites) wrote many songs in his later years directly attacking organized religion. Have they forgiven him for those as well? He also had a well-documented encounter with a UFO (please excuse this wild speculative leap,) and I often wondered if he himself was part of some ET program. Just imagine if you will that the Vatican was aware of this, and in damage-control mode, anticipating perhaps full disclosure, they are now "forgiving" him. Ya, that one's "out-there"...I couldn't help myself.


reply posted on 23-11-2008 @ 06:59 AM by chissler
I'm just certain John is resting a little easier having heard this. (sarcasm intended)

The fact that this formal apology has been issued still tells me that it is ridiculous how much stock was put into this. John was merely pointing out that more people were paying attention to the Beatles than were going to church on Sundays. A joke gone awry and he felt terrible for it. The guys didn't slam him for it, although logically upset by it, but John suffered from immense guilt from this for a long time because he felt he let the guys down.

If the media were anything like it is today back then, the Beatles would have been taboo'd long before they reached the success they did. So many stories were buried that the media could have ran with, but never did.. because the line wasn't crossed during those times.

Typically these stories surrounded John. From having underage women in his room to potential homosexual relations with their manager Brian Epstein, none of this was referenced in the media during their success. I believe the potential relationship with Lennon & Epstein did come out during the end, but little attention was paid at the time. The story with the young girls was squashed mainly because all involved said nothing happened and out of respect the media agreed to leave it alone.

Somehow this apology from the Vatican comes across as self-serving. It serves no purpose to John and his family, so why bother?

Something to keep an eye on.

[edit on 11-23-2008 by chissler]
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