Pope Benedict XVI continues to sound a message of Church renewal through penance and conversion — not structural reform — in the wake of the clerical sex abuse scandal. In today's general audience, he focused on the work of St. Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century German Benedictine, who toward the end of her life became a traveling missionary for ecclesial renewal.

Here's the relevant passage:

She was considered to be a messenger sent by God, in particular calling monastic communities and clergy to a life in conformity with their vocation. Hildegard especially opposed the German Cathar movement. The Cathars - their name literally means 'pure' - supported radical reform of the Church, principally to combat clerical abuses. She reprimanded them fiercely, accusing them of wanting to subvert the very nature of the Church and reminding them that the true renewal of the ecclesial community is not obtained by changing structures so much as by a sincere spirit of penance and a fruitful journey of conversion. This is a message we must never forget.

Read the entire thing here.