On Friday night, Pope Francis led a celebration of the Via Crucis at Rome’s Colosseum.
The meditations were been written by a group of young Catholics from Lebanon. At
the end of the celebration, Pope Francis briefly addressed the thousands of people
who attended the event. Below is the full text of his address: Dear Brother
and Sisters, Thank you for having taken part in these moments of deep prayer.
I also thank those who have accompanied us through the media, especially the sick
and elderly. I do not wish to add too many words. One word should suffice this
evening, that is the Cross itself. The Cross is the word through which God has responded
to evil in the world. Sometimes it may seem as though God does not react to evil,
as if he is silent. And yet, God has spoken, he has replied, and his answer is the
Cross of Christ: a word which is love, mercy, forgiveness. It is also reveals a
judgment, namely that God, in judging us, loves us. Remember this: God, in judging
us, loves us. If I embrace his love then I am saved, if I refuse it, then I am condemned,
not by him, but my own self, because God never condemns, he only loves and saves. Dear
brothers and sisters, the word of the Cross is also the answer which Christians offer
in the face of evil, the evil that continues to work in us and around us. Christians
must respond to evil with good, taking the Cross upon themselves as Jesus did. This
evening we have heard the witness given by our Lebanese brothers and sisters: they
composed these beautiful prayers and meditations. We extend our heartfelt gratitude
to them for this work and for the witness they offer. We were able to see this when
Pope Benedict visited Lebanon: we saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion
joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers
and sisters and so many others. That occasion was a sign to the Middle East and to
the whole world: a sign of hope. We now continue this Via Crucis in our daily
lives. Let us walk together along the Way of the Cross and let us do so carrying in
our hearts this word of love and forgiveness. Let us go forward waiting for the Resurrection
of Jesus, who loves us so much. He is all love.