More popular than Jesus was "bigger than God", but reaction was minimal. In a 2008 article marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' double album "The Beatles" (also known as the "White Album"), the Vatican newspaper, "L'Osservatore Romano", issued the statement: In response to the statement, Starr said "Didn't the Vatican say we were possibly Satanic, and they've still forgiven us? I think the Vatican's got more to talk about than the Beatles." In its 14 April 2010 edition, "L'Osservatore Romano" responded to Starr's comments, stating that "John Lennon had no need of forgiveness from the Vatican, "L'Osservatore Romano" reprinted its 1966 article on
More popular than Jesus voted to cancel it rather than have "municipal facilities be used as a forum to ridicule anyone's religion", and also saying, "the Beatles are not welcome in Memphis". The Ku Klux Klan nailed a Beatles album to a wooden cross, vowing "vengeance", with conservative groups staging further public burnings of Beatles records. The Reverend Jimmy Stroad stated that a Christian rally in Memphis "would give the youth of the mid-South an opportunity to show Jesus Christ is more popular than the Beatles". The Memphis shows did take place, on 19 August; the afternoon show went as planned, but there was