Pope Benedict XVI says goodbye to pastors and announces “renewal” for the Church

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned and will remain in office until February 28, urged an indispensable “renewal” of the Church. He said this when he said goodbye to hundreds of priests and seminarians on Thursday, denouncing with a prophetic tone, the hypocrisy and rivalries that threaten the ancient institution.

“We have to work to truly make the Second Vatican Council and renew the Church,” said to the religious members in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. Later he said: “While I retire to prayer, I will always be close to all of you and I am sure that you will be with me, even if I stay hidden from the world,” said the Pope.

According to the resigning Pope, the approved reforms and openness to dialogue with the world “has not been done.” To many observers and Vaticanists, the scandals of “rivalries, hypocrisies, and divisions” were a reference to the internal power struggles and intrigues within the Vatican, which have marked his pontificate of nearly eight years.