Pope urges end to hypocrisy at final mass

Vatican City, Feb 13 (AFP) Pope Benedict XVI urged an end to "religious hypocrisy" and "rivalry" in the Catholic Church as he donned his papal mitre for the last time at an emotional mass in St Peter's Basilica today. Wearing the purple robes of Lent - a period of penitence for Christians before Easter - the pontiff was conveyed through the basilica's vast nave on a mobile platform because of his growing infirmity. Benedict urged the faithful to be sincere in their faith in his final mass as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics before he becomes only the second pontiff to resign voluntarily in the Church's 2,000 years. He condemned "religious hypocrisy" and called for an end to divisions, saying that "the face of the Church is sometimes marred by sins against the unity of the Church and divisions in the clergy", an apparent reference to the paedophilia or Vatileaks scandals plaguing the institution. The pope also called for an end to "individualism and rivalry". Benedict announced on Monday that he would resign because he no longer had the strength to carry out his duties. Benedict will no longer be pope from 1900 GMT on February 28, after which as Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi put it "people will know they no longer have to go to him for questions regarding the Universal Church." Benedict will honour his existing engagements in the final days of his papacy with a few notable exceptions like meetings with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Mario Monti. At the Vatican, next week will be given over to a spiritual retreat which is sure to be dominated by jockeying among factions within the College of Cardinals over the choice of Benedict's successor. The pope will hold his final general audience on February 27, this time a farewell event for all in St. Peter's Square, before retiring to a little-known monastery within Vatican walls, just a stone's throw away from his successor. Asked about this unprecedented "cohabitation", Lombardi replied: "I think the successor and the cardinals will be very happy to have very close by the person who best of all can understand the spiritual needs of the Church." The new pope will have to face up to growing secularism in the West, one of the Church's biggest challenges. Benedict admonished today: "You cannot be Christians as a simple consequence of living in a society with Christian roots." He added: "Even those born into a Christian family and given a religious education should... Put God first in the face of the temptations that a secular culture presents all the time." (AFP) NKP NKP 02140034 NNNN