Lima, Peru, Mar 11, 2004 / 22:00 pm
At the conclusion of a private screening of “The Passion of the Christ,” Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, Archbishop of Lima, said one cannot walk out of theater the same person.
”No one can be indifferent after seeing this film. It is a sign of contradiction. Nobody who sees it will be the same,” the Cardinal told CNA at the screening, which was attended by bishops and dozens of priests.
Cardinal Cipriani underscored the realism of the film, “which is perfectly faithful to what the Gospels say,” adding that the intensity “will lead many people to reflect above all on the immense love of God and the enormous pain of His sacrifice.”
He asked those who will see the film to remember “that God allows this pain so that humanity might receive forgiveness, the reconciliation of God with humanity. We are witnessing a moment in which the history of humanity is changing forever.”
He also said the film will be of much benefit to priests, religious, believers and non-believers.