Way of the Cross, Sacred Representation at Sydney, says Fr. Lombardi
(July 26, 2008) One of the highlights of World Youth Days in Sydney was certainly
the Way of the Cross through the cosmopolitan metropolis, said Fr Federico Lombardi,
Vatican Spokesman and Director of Vatican Radio and Television. He was commenting
on World Youth Day at Sydney in his weekly round up Octava Dies. The great secular
city of Sydney has witnessed, with respectful astonishment, a modern representation
of an ancient event, so profound and touching, he said. Making use of the strategic
and symbolic spots, such as the Opera, the Bridge, the Port, Sydney has shown how
the mystery of Christ’s passion affects men and women of every age, in their encounter
with evil, violence and death, he said. In the history of the world, there is no
story that can more forcefully shake the conscience as the Passion of Jesus. The
merit of the Sydney meet has been the personal commitment of not only the youth but
also of the city itself, said the Vatican’s Spokesman. The entire event was the sacred
representation of the Christian tradition, he added. In the face of Jesus who suffers
and dies the participants are not mere spectators and cannot remain indifferent but
involve totally. As the Holy Father has explained, the cross of Jesus, who died and
rose for us, remains the most effective means of salvation that we can announce today
and which effectively lead us into the third millennium, said Fr Lombardi.