Why is Vatican paper reviewing "Avatar", "The Simpsons"?

L’Osservatore Romano, the famously staid semi-official mouthpiece of the Catholic Church, has been seeking to remake its image, panning the blockbuster 'Avatar' but praising Homer Simpson and forgiving John Lennon for his 'more popular than Jesus' comment.

I'm not sure if this article has been previously posted here on FR, but I figured that I'd post it just in case it hadn't. I don't endorse the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy or her "church" - the Church of Christ, Scientist ... however, I did find that this article posits some valid observations about the decline of L'Osservatore Romano's direction / focus with regard more important topics that the Roman Catholic Church and its adherents should be concerned with.

Not banalities and novelties such as endorsing TV garbage like "The Simpson's" or retro forgiveness of the Beatles' John Lennon for his March 1966 comments in the London paper Evening Standard: "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." This is mere drivel that would more commonly be found in a low-class tabloid and not fit for dissemination via the Vatican. As a Traditionalist Roman Catholic, I am befuddled by the rationale being shown by the powers-that-be at L’Osservatore Romano and am curious as to what other Freepers' opinions on this topic may be.

Thanks for your time everyone. Take care. trollcrusher

We're more popular than Jesus now

I don't know what specific group JL was talking about, but if he was talking about the young people of the USA and Britain, I would contend he was just reporting a fact.

He did say "popular," not superior or better.

This says a lot more about the group he was speaking of than it does about John, the Beatles or Jesus.

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