Pope Forgives John Lennon?

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.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Inside Catholic) - Good news, everybody -- you can finally listen to those old Beatles albums again without having to go to confession after:

"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."

I love news clips like this -- the idea that the Catholic Church has held a collective grudge against the Beatles for 40 years over an idle comment, anathematizing albums left and right. Sort of like when Pope John Paul II apologized for the Church's handling of the Galileo case, and the media reacted as if Catholics were finally allowed to believe that the earth was round. I can't wait to hear what centuries-old grudge we're dropping next.

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