John Lennon Forgiven

Catholic newspaper L'Osservatore Romano has published an article forgiving the late Beatle John Lennon for controversial anti-religious comments he made in 1966.

Lennon was quoted as saying that the Fab Four were "more popular than Jesus" leading to furore amongst the Christian world. Public gathering in the southern United States were organized to burn Beatles memorabilia, forcing Lennon into a public apology.

The newspaper, which is a semi-official organ of the Vatican, said that Lennon had just been showing off. The new article insists that the comments has been "Showing off, bragging by a young English working-class musician who had grown up in the age of Elvis Presley and rock and roll and had enjoyed unexpected success."

Lennon's 1966 comments, made in an interview with the London Evening Standard, had criticised religion.

"Christianity will go," he said. "It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right.

"We're more popular than Jesus now. I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."