POPES are a rum old bunch … but we guess you knew that already.
That said, we did manage to half-raise an eyebrow and a knowing grin when we learned today that the late Pope John Paul II was partial to lashings of lashings, which he inflicted on himself in “remorse for his sins”.
The late Pope John Paul II: He beatified himself
John Paul’s kinky little habit emerged through the testimony of Polish nun Tobiana Sobodka, of the Sacred Heart of Jesus order, who worked for Pope John Paul in his private Vatican apartments and at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome.
The Sister revealed:
Several times he (Pope John Paul) would put himself through bodily penance. We would hear it – we were in the next room at Castel Gandolfo. You could hear the sound of the blows when he flagellated himself. He did it when he was still capable of moving on his own.
The nun’s testimony, according to this report, is among thousands of documents that have been collected and examined by officials from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The flagellations are also confirmed by another bishop who has given testimony, Emery Kabongo, who for several years was a secretary for Pope John Paul.
He said:
He would punish himself, and. in particular, just before he ordained bishops and priests. Before passing on the sacraments he wanted to prepare himself. I never actually saw it myself but several people told me about it.
Sister Sobodka’s leaked statements were published in Italian newspaper La Stampa and are part of new book on Pope John Paul II by its Vatican correspondent.
According to Christian mythology, Jesus was whipped by Roman guard before he was crucified, and self-flagellation is sometimes used by devoted Catholics to remind them of the event.
It is still common in the Philippines and Latin America, and among some members of strict monastic orders.
A Vatican spokesman said:
The investigation and documentation is still secret and as such we can make no comment on it until the final report is published. I know that the nun in question has returned to Poland and she would have spoken with the Congregation as she was with an order that worked in the apartments of Pope John Paul.
The late Polish pope’s beatification is expected to take place sometime next year, perhaps in April, to coincide with the fifth anniversary of his death or in October to coincide with his election in 1978.
Hat tip: BarrieJohn, who also supplied the delicious headline!
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
November 24th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
“Every morning I whip myself with a metal-studded cat o’ nine tails. So must you, my son, if you would keep the evil one from polluting your manhood. There is an organization called Opus Dei that can teach you the virtue of self-mortification.”
That is an excerpt from the chapter, “Karol Polski”, of my novel, The Fall and Rise of the House of Hippo (World Audience, 2008). While it is not based on any leaked documents or inside information, it gets a hell of a lot right.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
WELL! STRIPE ME!!
November 24th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Somehow I strongly doubt Ratzinger would ever do the same. To himself anyway.
November 24th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Methinks he was doing it to pull the birds.
November 25th, 2009 at 1:28 am
This blood religion just gets weirder and weirder. Creepy and sort of disgusting.
November 25th, 2009 at 6:21 am
Maybe there’s something kinky here.
A little BDSM, or perhaps just a little M.
November 25th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Sailor1031 “Creepy and disgusting” indeed and this is not the behaviour of mature people. Kind of makes you realise how these crazies find no problem in insisting that contraception is bad and that the more humans breed – RC’s preferred – the better and to hell with the main problem of controlling pollution, starvation and the extermination of species. What is really scary is that they are taken seriously. These nutters are welcome on Thought for the Day whereas sane and balanced atheists are censored.
November 25th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Knowing the Catholics penchant for young boys I would have thought the Pope’s “English massage” would administered by a strapping young man!
November 25th, 2009 at 10:01 am
There once was a Pope with a whip
That had metal bits in the tip:
They dug in his skin,
And although he weren’t thin,
He complained, “This is giving me gyp!”
November 25th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Angela K. I think you may have got the indefinite article in the wrong place. Did you not mean “by strapping a young man.”
barriejohn: great stuff, keep e’m coming.
November 25th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Broga – very good!
November 25th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Hang on a minute the Polish nun heard it but didn’t see it and Emery Kabongo heard about it from others. I want some proof, a video on youtube perhaps. Sounds to me he was flogging something else, a dead horse maybe! He could have been just bashing his Bishop.
November 25th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Just for Broga:
The Pope lashed himself with a tawse,
And woke up the neighbours of course.
“Keep the noise down”, they said,
“We are all still in bed –
Are you floggin’ a bloomin’ dead horse?”