VATICAN - At the end of the Way of the Cross on Good Friday at the Colosseum the Pope says “do not be afraid”, because “by dying the Lord has saved sinners, all of us, on the cross the Redeemer restored the dignity which belongs to us ”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - On Good Friday, 21 March, at the Colosseum at nine in the evening Pope Benedict presided the Way of the Cross, “on the day on which our eyes have seen once again the suffering and anguish which our Redeemer suffered at the hour of great pain, which marked the culmination of his earthly mission ”. Good Friday is a day of “human mournfulness" and “religious silence” and the Holy Father encouraged the faithful to reflect on the events of that day and asked: “Can one be indifferent to the death of God?”.
The Pope then dwelt on the means Christ used for our redemption, the Cross, which is for the Christian people “ the source of immortal life, the school of justice and peace, the universal patrimony of pardon and mercy. It is permanent proof of a self-giving and infinite love that brought God to become man, vulnerable like us, even to dying crucified. His nailed arms are open to each human being and they invite us to draw near to him, certain that he accepts us and clasps us in an embrace of infinite tenderness: "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" ”.
The Way of the Cross is the painful path of man of every epoch, it is the road along which the peoples, “reconciled and redeemed by the blood of Christ - the Pope added - they became friends of God, children of the heavenly Father ”. Many fail to understand the deep love God has for his creatures, nevertheless the death of his only Son, made us all brothers and sisters, redeeming the whole of humanity from ignorance of God, from the slavery of sin.
Lastly Benedict XVI urged the faithful to “question” human certainties: “Jesus is the truth that makes us free to love. Let us not be afraid: upon dying, the Lord saved sinners, that is, all of us…on the Cross, the Redeemer has restored to us the dignity that belongs to us, has made us adoptive sons and daughters of God whom he has created in his image and likeness”. (Agenzia Fides 21/3/2008 - righe 21, parole 333)