John Lennon, Catholic Shoplifter

LIVERPOOL ECHO, Jan. 28 — John Lennon became infamous for saying the Beatles were “bigger than Jesus” and that he didn’t believe in Jesus, just “in me.” Now a childhood friend has reported that Lennon was obsessed with the Catholic Church.

Richard Tate, who attended college with Lennon in Liverpool, said Lennon loved to “see how far he could go and how much he could get away with.” Now 64 and a successful actor, Tate revealed that Lennon’s favorite crime was stealing from St. Paul’s Catholic Bookstore.

“It was almost as if he wanted to get struck down by a thunderbolt,” Tate said, the Echo reported. “…One of the things I remember him taking was a book on Pope Pius XII. That devilment was always there — and it could be quite frightening.”

Satanists on Trial for Murder in Italy

LOS ANGELES TIMES, Jan. 30 — A murder trial scheduled to begin Feb. 21 in Milan demonstrates that devil worship is more than legend.

Eight members of a heavy metal band called the Beasts of Satan are accused of three murders fueled by drugs and alcohol. Andrea Volpe, 27, first confessed to killing a former girlfriend a year ago, and then, in an attempt to secure a shorter sentence, took police to a shallow grave where two former members of the band, missing six years, were found. They had been stabbed, beaten and ritually burned.

The case has riveted Italy since Volpe’s diaries were leaked to the media. A sort of evil breviary, they declared: “We are wicked individuals. We plague the people and we play with their lives. We know no pity. Pitiless, we will eliminate and cleanse, donating the ash of our enemies to he who sits on the throne.”

According to one report, Chiara Marino was murdered because the Beasts believed her an incarnation of the Virgin Mary.

Even as 650 satanic cults have been identified in Italy, Carlo Climati, who will teach a course on Satanism this spring at Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University, cautioned that Italians should remain vigilant but calm.

“It would be a big mistake to see the devil everywhere,” Climati said. “There’s no reason to panic. What we are teaching is how to know the language of Satanism, how to identity where it is and where it is not.”

Vietnam to Free Imprisoned Priest

VOICE OF AMERICA NEWS, Jan. 31 — Vietnam is to free 8,000 prisoners this month, including prominent political prisoner Father Nguyen Van Ly.

Prison amnesties are part of the traditional Vietnamese celebration of Tet, the lunar new year. More relevant, however, is the expected March 15 decision of the United States on whether to impose sanctions to punish Vietnam for suppressing religion.

Father Ly has served four years of a 10-year sentence for calling on the United States to restrict trade until freedom is granted. His release also coincides with a thaw between Hanoi and the Vatican. A senior representative from Rome visited the Vietnamese capital last month, the first step in negotiations to restore diplomatic relations between the two states.