Oh, that’s why he looked so miserable all the time…he beat himself with a belt. Wouldn’t it have been easier just to head to a Bear Bar? I’m sure there are plenty of people who would have lined up to whack this mental patient…and their belts are often studded…oooohhhhh…hope he remembers his safe word…
(CNN) — Pope John Paul II used to beat himself with a belt and sleep on a bare floor to bring himself closer to Christ, a book published Wednesday says. The late pope had a particular belt for self-flagellation and brought it with him to his summer residence, according to the book, "Why he is a Saint: The True story of John Paul II."
"In the closet, among the cloaks, a particular pant-belt hung from a hook, which he utilized as a whip and one which he always had brought to Castel Gandolfo," the book says.
Mother Teresa is among famous Catholics who self-flagellated in some way, said Michael Barrett, a priest of the Catholic Opus Dei sect.
