” “Speaking about "judgement" in the final part of his Encyclical, Benedict XVI writes that "in most men so we can assume remains, in the deepest part of their life, an ultimate inner openness to truth, to love, to God. But, in their real life choices, it is buried under ever-new compromises with evil". So the Pope wonders: "What happens to such individuals when they appear in front of the Judge? Will all the dirty things they have crammed their life with become insignificant all of a sudden?" The answer gives us back the meaning of Christian hope. "The encounter with Him (Christ) is the decisive deed of the Judgement. In front of His eyes, every falsehood melts away. It is the encounter with Him that, by burning us, transforms us and frees us to make us become truly ourselves". "In the pain of this encounter, in which the unclean and the sick of our being show up to us, lies salvation". (continued)” “
