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[I havn't read the book describing this, but I do find it interesting that the media has jumped on the claims that Pope John Paul II was a self-flagellator who often slept on the ground. In the Catholic Church, self-flagellation is done to imitate the sufferings of Christ and has been highly criticized by Orthodox for whom asceticism is a means to calm the passions rather than to create pain. The creation of pain to imitate the sufferings of Christ is very dangerous for the spiritual life and can be a form of delusion (rather than a reason for sainthood as the Catholic Church claims). Archbishop Lazar Puhalo accurately analyzes this, saying: "During the Middle Ages, and particularly following the Black Plague, self-flagellation became popular among monks and nuns in Western Europe. Indeed, flagellation was the source of many of the 'spiritual ecstasies' claimed by Western saints. This is reasonable since flagellation is a form of masturbation. It very quickly becomes a form of sexual addiction. There are many contemporary accounts of the ecstasies aroused by flagellation, especially among nuns. Often, monks would flagellate themselves into a trance and, wounded and bleeding, begin to proclaim revelations they thought they had received from God." - J.S.]
Pope John Paul II Whipped Himself For God
January 27, 2010
The London Times
The late Pope John Paul II, who has been put on the fast track to sainthood by the Vatican, regularly whipped himself as an act of penance to feel closer to God, it was reported on Wednesday.
A new book also says the pontiff signed a secret document saying that he would step down if he became incurably ill, The Times of London said.
"Why a Saint?" by Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the Vatican "postulator" in charge of the canonization process, says the Polish-born Pope performed self-flagellation as a bishop in Krakow and continued to do so in the Vatican after being elected Pope in 1978.
"In his wardrobe, among his vestments, there hung on a clothes hanger a special belt for trousers which he used as a whip," Monsignor Oder says.
He said self-flagellation was "an instrument of Christian perfection" emulating the sufferings of Jesus Christ.
He added that in Poland the former Bishop Karol Wojtyla often slept on the bare floor to practice self-denial and asceticism, often disturbing his bed in the morning to pretend he had slept in it and so avoid drawing attention to his act of penitence.
The new book also confirms that in 1989 John Paul, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, prepared a document stating that he would resign, "in the case of infirmity which is presumed incurable, long-lasting and which impedes me from sufficiently carrying out the functions of my apostolic ministry".
Popes are normally elected for life.
John Paul forgave Mehmet Ali Agca, his would-be assassin, in the ambulance on the way to the hospital moments after he was shot on May 13, 1981, in St. Peter's Square, the book further reveals.
Pope Benedict put John Paul on the fast track for sainthood shortly after his death in April 2005 death by waiving the customary five-year waiting period before the beatification and canonization process can begin.
Self-flagallation, when practiced in the context of monasticism and under the guidance of an experienced spiritual father, is a perfectly Orthodox practice done to assist in the subduing of fleshly desires, not to imitate the Passion of Christ. Read the life of Blessed Elder Joseph the Hesychast to see a contemporary example; his last living disciple, Elder Ephraim of Arizona, in his published letters and homilies, speaks of the practice.
ReplyDeleteLazar Puahlo (deposed by the ROCOR and consecrated bishop by the Old Calendarist "Synod of Milan") is mistaken in tracing the practice to the Middle Age West.
I agree with the first comment, and further add that many saints of the Orthodox Church have practiced such a "philoponia", or "love of pain" as a form of ascesis (if I'm not mistaken including, St. Paul, St. Martinian, St. Benedict, St. Nephon, etc.).
ReplyDeleteBut it is important to understand that all of these efforts must be performed under the obedience to an experienced, discerning Elder, and that this is done to help subdue the body with its unruly passions. If done only in obedience and with the guidance of an illumined spiritual father and with a goal of fighting the passions, it seems less likely for this to translate into a "sexual addiction", as you put it.
And last of all (though this is solely my opinion), to my mind it seems arbitrary to try to differentiate the various ways of asceticism within Orthodox praxis. What is the difference between this and strict fasting, or wearing a hair shirt, or binding one's self with chains, or sleeping on the ground, or standing all night, or performing many prostrations (all of which were performed by so many saints and righteous ones)?
I say all this not to vindicate Pope John Paul II, nor to recommend this to anyone myself, but to say that we are all called to follow the path of obedience, self-denial, ascesis, sacrifice and love put forward by Christ Himself, and followed by the Holy Fathers.
May all of us who are dead spiritually take at least a first step towards denying ourselves and taking up our Cross, as Great Lent is soon approaching.
Elder Joseph had his disciples carry a staff so they could strike their thigh, as pain can drive away the desire for pleasure. It may be a stretch to say that is the exact SAME thing as what Pope John Paul was doing.
ReplyDeleteArchbishop Lazar doesn't trace the practice to the Medieval West, but explains its popularity at that time. If you read the writings of the Marquis De Sade, who helped popularize sadomasichism, you can read about the association between self-flagellation and sexual pleasure, which is confirmed in contemporary studies about self-inflicted methods of pain. What Orthodox writers have condemned is the practice of self-flagellation as a method to co-suffer with Christ by inducing pain, as was done in the West and still done by members of Opus Dei and in the Phillipines and Latin America. I think one reason the media is fascinated by the it is because of its prominence in "The DaVinci Code". Of course a certain method of self-flagellation was practiced for ascetic purposes, but as mentioned, this was to calm the passions and not intended as a ritual. It's ritualization is an extreme practice. And as Cyril D says, the self-flagellation Elder's Joseph and Ephraim recommend, are meant to be done strictly under their guidance to subdue the passions for one on the verge of sin and should not be taken up individually or ritually.
ReplyDeleteWhat next. Oh by the way. I read that they want to make Pope Pius 12th a saint. The one who supported Nazism and gave blessing to senior ranking Croat catholics to dispose of the Serb Othodox, Jews and gypsies.
ReplyDeleteSome of these comments are really creepy.
ReplyDelete