How John Lennon and Paul McCartney brokered the peace between Israel and the Vatican
This from the ‘vaguely interesting’ front:
“Plans are being finalised for Pope Benedict XVI to visit Israel in May next year, the Vatican has confirmed. The Pope had intended to make the announcement himself at Christmas, Vatican sources said. However the news was leaked this week by the Israeli daily Haaretz.”
Never mind the Israeli daily Haaretz, of course: Those in the know had seen this visit coming long before this supposedly stop-the-presses leak.
This visit had been in the planning for the longest time – and has been orchestrated like one of those old John Lennon and Paul McCartney songs.
It started with Israel apologizing to the surviving members of The Beatles, in January, this year, for having barred them from performing in Israel in 1965:
“JERUSALEM – The Israeli Foreign Ministry has extended an official apology to The Beatles, 43 years after the British band was banned from performing in the Jewish State.”
Paul McCartney subsequently did a concert in Israel.
Then, last week, operation ‘Hug A Beatle’ continued with the Vatican officially forgiving John Lennon for stating that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus:
“More than 40 years after Christians were infuriated by the Beatles’ claim that they were “more popular than Jesus”, the Roman Catholic Church has made peace with the Fab Four.”
Obviously, John Lennon won’t follow his former band mate’s example by having a concert in front of Rome’s St Peter’s – but, no doubt, he will be there in spirit, when the Pope mobile stops in front of the Knesset, where German-born Pope and Israel’s Prime Minister will hug on the parliament steps and start to sing a medley of these pardoned & popular Beatles songs: ‘I want to hold your hand/Love me do/We can work it out/With a little help from my friends.’
Ah well, let’s hope the visit will be a success. God knows the world can use a few more things-not-going-tits-up stories – although, personally, I’m more comfortable with some of the later, much bleaker John Lennon songs, like the one I’m closing with, ‘God’:
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