Lennon forgiven by the Vatican - would he care?

Forty-two years after John Lennon made his infamous remark about The Beatles being bigger than Jesus, the Vatican has finally forgiven Lennon for his slip of the tongue in 1966.

It was announced on November 23 2008, that the official Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano had forgiven John Lennon for his comment.

In an interview with journalist and Beatles confidant Maureen Cleave in 1966 Lennon said: “Christianity will come and go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that. I know I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus right now. I don’t know which will go first, rock and roll or Christianity”.

The interview produced a serious amount of controversy worldwide, particularly in the southern states of America.

Lennon’s comment resulted in people producing death threats and recording burnings of The Beatles’ albums, throwing doubts on their impending tour at the time.

Lennon later said that his comments had been “more or less” taken out of context, and he was merely stating an unfortunate fact.

Although this news story began over 40 years ago, controversy still surrounds the issue to this day, with a recently published book stating that Lennon sold his soul to the devil for fame and paid the price for it in 1980 when he was assassinated.

Perhaps the incident can now come full circle with the Vatican praising The Beatles’ music on the 40th Anniversary of the release of their White album.

L’Osservatore Romano forgives Lennon for his remark, calling it a product of “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”.

The Vatican article then goes on to praise The Beatles, calling the White album a “magical, musical anthology”.

However, not all people who have been condemned by the Vatican due to their music have been forgiven like Lennon.

Closer to home, Brian McFadden, who released his second single from his solo album Irish Son in 2004, was caught in a storm of controversy despite the song reaching number six in the UK Charts.

McFadden was condemned for his use of a Christian Brothers school in Sutton, while the song lyrics implied McFadden had been physically abused at the school.

Some of the lyrics from the song included “We were warped by the Christian Brothers/In the cell blocks at our schools/ Get a handprint on your skin/From a glove of jewels”.

The song criticised the alleged negative hold the Catholic Church held on Irish society in the past. McFadden himself claimed in the song “it was leaving that saved me”.

The video for the song eventually had to be pulled by the record label due to the controversy surrounding it.

In a world where apparently all have freedom of speech, interference from outside institutions like the Catholic Church seems to strike hypocritical to me. Just because one person doesn’t agree with what you are saying, doesn’t give them the right to condemn them.

Although to some, what Lennon said in 1966 may seem distasteful and immature. Even if that it is the case, he was free to do so as it was his opinion. It is the same with McFadden. He is free to express himself musically how he likes, without having to come under criticism from religious organisations because of it.

While Lennon may have been finally forgiven by the Catholic Church, he should never have been condemned in the first place.