Pope on way to sainthood with flagellation news

The last Pope, John Paul II, apparently has a far better chance of being made a saint after a book released by the Vatican reveals that he regularly self-flagellated - whipped himself - to imitate Christ's suffering and feel closer to God.

Many saints, including St Francis of Assisi and St Ignatius of Loyola, practised self-flagellation and it seems John Paul II was doing it even when he was still Bishop Karol Wojtyla in Poland before he was elected pontiff in 1978.

The book ­ Why He Is a Saint: the Real John Paul II is not some lowly biography, but an official tome prepared by Monsignor Slawomir Oder, a Vatican official in charge of overseeing the process that could lead to sainthood.

"In his closet, among his vestments, there was hung on a clothes hanger a particular kind of belt which he used as a whip," the book states.

Oder also has evidence from members of Karol Wojtyla's entourage that he often slept on a bare floor while he was a bishop, in order to practise self-denial and asceticism.

"It is clear the aspect of penitence was present in the life of John Paul II," Oder told a Vatican press conference yesterday. "It should be seen as part of his profound relationship with the Lord."

The path to sainthood is a long one. Pope Benedict XVI, who replaced John Paul II on his death in 2005, got the ball rolling when he approved a decree last month recognising that his predecessor had lived the Christian faith heroically.

After Oder's book, the next step demands that a miracle is attributed to John Paul II. Step forward a French nun who says she was cured of Parkinson's disease after praying to him. ·