Post by Jai Guru Deva on Nov 22, 2008 12:11:04 GMT -5
Well, now I've seen everything from Jesus to Paul! Hmm, I wonder if they know "Pope Paul I" was replaced with "Pope Paul II"... 
Or is it "Pope Ed from Sweden"?! ;D
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Let it be: Vatican forgives Beatles for Lennon's 'more popular than Jesus' claim
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 12:00 AM on 22nd November 2008
DailyMail
The Beatles have finally been forgiven by the Vatican for suggesting they were more popular than Jesus.
John Lennon's infamous claim in March 1966 that the Fab Four surpassed Christ in the popularity stakes caused an uproar at the time, with some conservative Christians burning Beatles albums. The band also received death threats.
But today the Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, which reflects opinion at the very top of the Roman Catholic Church, marks the 40th anniversary of the 'White Album' by dismissing as a 'quip' Lennon's remark - and it goes on to pour praise on the band.
Big claim: John Lennon (left) suggested The Beatles were more popular than Jesus (portrayed, right, in a painting by Jacopo de Barberi) - but the Vatican has now forgiven the Fab Four
It says the legendary double album - which came out on November 22, 1968 at the height of the Fab Four's influence and popularity - was 'a magical musical anthology' from a band 'full of talent'.
And it says: '(Lennon's) phrase provoked deep indignation at the time, but sounds today like a quip from a young man from the English working class overtaken by unexpected success.'
The real talent of the Beatles, it said, 'rested in their unequalled capacity to write popular songs with a sort of euphoric lightness that constituted a genuine trademark'.
'Today,' it went on to lament, 'recordings seem above all to be standardised and stereotyped - falling well short of the creativity of the Beatles.'
'The talent of Lennon and the other Beatles gave us some of the best pages in modern pop music.'
Only 'snobs', it said, would dismiss the Beatles' songs, which had shown 'an extraordinary resistance to the effects of time, providing inspiration for several generations of pop musicians'.
Lennon had told a reporter from the London Evening Standard in 1966: 'Christianity will go.
'It will vanish and shrink. We're more popular than Jesus now - I don't know which will go first, rock and roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.'
Fab Four: Pictured clockwise from top left are Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison
Later Lennon tried to explain his comment in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1969.
'It’s just an expression meaning the Beatles seem to me to have more influence over youth than Christ.
'Now I wasn’t saying that was a good idea because I’m one of Christ’s biggest fans,' he said. 'And if I can turn the focus of the Beatles on to Christ’s message, then that’s what we’re here to do.'
He said: 'If the Beatles get on the side of Christ, which they always were, and let people know that, then maybe the churches won’t be full, but there’ll be a lot of Christians dancing in the dance halls.'
He said he did not have a notion of a 'physical heaven,' adding that 'the kingdom of heaven is within you, Christ said, and I believe that.'
The interview was given the year Lennon quit the Beatles and embarked on a solo career that ended with his death in 1980 when he was shot by Mark Chapman in New York.
The Vatican newspaper has been trying to shed its stuffy image recently and in July it made its peace with Elvis.
It recalled the the once-outlawed pelvis-twister as a 'nice, sensitive young man' who was doomed by fame.
Or is it "Pope Ed from Sweden"?! ;D____________________________________________________
Let it be: Vatican forgives Beatles for Lennon's 'more popular than Jesus' claim
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 12:00 AM on 22nd November 2008
DailyMail
The Beatles have finally been forgiven by the Vatican for suggesting they were more popular than Jesus.
John Lennon's infamous claim in March 1966 that the Fab Four surpassed Christ in the popularity stakes caused an uproar at the time, with some conservative Christians burning Beatles albums. The band also received death threats.
But today the Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, which reflects opinion at the very top of the Roman Catholic Church, marks the 40th anniversary of the 'White Album' by dismissing as a 'quip' Lennon's remark - and it goes on to pour praise on the band.
Big claim: John Lennon (left) suggested The Beatles were more popular than Jesus (portrayed, right, in a painting by Jacopo de Barberi) - but the Vatican has now forgiven the Fab Four
It says the legendary double album - which came out on November 22, 1968 at the height of the Fab Four's influence and popularity - was 'a magical musical anthology' from a band 'full of talent'.
And it says: '(Lennon's) phrase provoked deep indignation at the time, but sounds today like a quip from a young man from the English working class overtaken by unexpected success.'
The real talent of the Beatles, it said, 'rested in their unequalled capacity to write popular songs with a sort of euphoric lightness that constituted a genuine trademark'.
'Today,' it went on to lament, 'recordings seem above all to be standardised and stereotyped - falling well short of the creativity of the Beatles.'
'The talent of Lennon and the other Beatles gave us some of the best pages in modern pop music.'
Only 'snobs', it said, would dismiss the Beatles' songs, which had shown 'an extraordinary resistance to the effects of time, providing inspiration for several generations of pop musicians'.
Lennon had told a reporter from the London Evening Standard in 1966: 'Christianity will go.
'It will vanish and shrink. We're more popular than Jesus now - I don't know which will go first, rock and roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.'
Fab Four: Pictured clockwise from top left are Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison
Later Lennon tried to explain his comment in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1969.
'It’s just an expression meaning the Beatles seem to me to have more influence over youth than Christ.
'Now I wasn’t saying that was a good idea because I’m one of Christ’s biggest fans,' he said. 'And if I can turn the focus of the Beatles on to Christ’s message, then that’s what we’re here to do.'
He said: 'If the Beatles get on the side of Christ, which they always were, and let people know that, then maybe the churches won’t be full, but there’ll be a lot of Christians dancing in the dance halls.'
He said he did not have a notion of a 'physical heaven,' adding that 'the kingdom of heaven is within you, Christ said, and I believe that.'
The interview was given the year Lennon quit the Beatles and embarked on a solo career that ended with his death in 1980 when he was shot by Mark Chapman in New York.
The Vatican newspaper has been trying to shed its stuffy image recently and in July it made its peace with Elvis.
It recalled the the once-outlawed pelvis-twister as a 'nice, sensitive young man' who was doomed by fame.
