I was also shocked that he said that considering his approach on many other things. Maybe he was brought up this way but using violence is not a solution and he will have to clarify exactly what he means.
It shouldn't come as a shocker. The Catholics, and this is not to offend anyone, has always been known to be strict disciplinarians. Why do you think all the movies that have been made with nuns disciplining students harshly has been made this way, script writers aren't guessing, those nuns can be brutal!