Self-flagellation?

I was always told that self-flagellation would make me go blind and grow hair on my palms. Pope JP-II must have had a great barber - you never saw a hairy palm when he was waving to the crowd. On top of that, he always seemed to be looking right at you.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/01/27/pope.flagellate/index.html

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/01/pope-john-paul-iis-theology-of-the-body.html