Vatican: Beatles Brand Withstands Test of Time

Oh, and that "We're More Popular than Jesus" Remark? Just an Empty Boast

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) — The Vatican’s newspaper has 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.

A 1966 comment by Lennon to a London newspaper, “We’re more popular than Jesus now,” infuriated many Christians.

“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,” the Vatican daily newspaper 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.