Padraig wanted to inform them it wasn't a crutch, and that the Pope very much did self-flaggelate, or at least Pope John Paul II had. But he wasn't here to argue, and it did bother him that they seemed upset. He didn't want to do that.
"I'm sorry to have upset you," Padraig said with a frown. "I don't expect anyone else to understand the way I express my faith, though I also believe it's my choice. I don't want to tell anyone else how to express their faith either."