Hello nilofc,
The Church hasn’t defined it as immoral ergo you can’t, that’s a personal opinion,
what of the people who were not religious or practicing catholics and then came back to the Church? I got two, I was a volunteer fireman and 11 of us got company tats on our arms, they don’t offend anyone, but they did bind us in unity, people tlk about us all the time, and know our companies name as a result. Siting in a bar the other day twenty miles from home, spoke with a guy who mentioned being a Volunteer, stated he knew a guy who had this tattoo ‘Salamander’ In greek mythology salamanders had the ability to walk through fire, i.e. fire salamander) all I did was lift up my shirt, and told him to tell him I said, ‘hello.’
Tattoos help identify with others, I’ve seen christians with the symbol of a fish on their right hands, so that while shaking hands you can see they believed in Christ, tho the Church has used symbols and images for two thousand years and stated in or around the 7th or 8th century, when Iconoclasm was started by the muslim influence on roman emperors See St John of Damascene, who wrote that no gov’t has the right to tell the Church what to do about matters of and morals and threat when they did the " Church teachings/ discipline was worth dying for, if it is attacked by a government to make laws for the Church" [The Greek Fathers, Adrian Fortrsque Ignatius press page 206].
also on pg 205 "paintings and statues as right and as natural a visible things unseen as motions of our body kneeling, standing and lifting up our hands are as invisible atittudes of our minds (forms of Worship).
I’m not sacntioning the blatant in your face gang tattoos or piercing on the nose, I’m put off by them, however that’s my personal feeling/opinion, people with these tats etc. would be discouraged from possibly as lectors and E.M’s simply because these would be distractions @ Mass.
Tattos of pagan influence, well that’s another story! frowned upon like reading the Horoscope pages. Which are not to be viewed as ‘your Future’ simply because Only Knows Our future.
John writes in Revelations:
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Rev 14:1 Then I looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
Rev 19:16 On his robe and** on his thigh he has a name inscribed, **King of kings and Lord of lords.
John used imagery just as every author in Scripture used imagery to tell the story of God and our salvation through & in Christ.
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Is our Body Temples of the Holy Spirit? YES. Can we improve on what God has given us? God gives us and we are expected to encourage each of our INDIVIDUAL talents in His name.
And again we are all human and are in different positions on our spiritual paths, having a tattoo doesn’t make one evil, unless it is put there to promote devilish things, and that could also be stupidity of youth.** God forgives when we confess our sins.**
If you really read your bible, which I had some 4 thousand hours of reading when I stopped counting in 2002, you’ll see God’s people had piercings, how do you thing they wore all that jewelry they donated to the Temple? Or used to build the Golden Calf? The Golden Calf (Young Bull) wasn’t made as a pagan Idol, but as an image of God’s strength and power, but until Christ images were disallowed because they were limiting to Almighty Gods Omnipotents, Omniscience, and Omnipresence, In Chris we do have the Image of these, Christ himself is a Sacrament, God’s Word Invisible with the visible.
Images are not outright wrong, if they are used to make us think of Christ and His Church they are welcomed.
Today, I don’t recommend any get one, that’s my opinion based on my experience, I get nourish from the ink and could taste it in my mouth, that’s the experience I pass on.
If you want to know what the Church taches look it up in the Catechism, bring it to your Pastor and ask Him to elaborate on it.
The CHurch hasn’t defined tattoos as intrinsically evil because they are not! People do that.
When you quote the Bible or state the Bible says, you really need to back that up with Chapter and verse, The context of Leviticus is (a) living 400 in Egypt, the Hebrews essentially became Egyptians, The Law from God to separate His people from the ways they had been accustomed to. The animals they sacrificed were the same animals the Egyptians Worshipped, so after the sacrifices, the Hebrews could not turn back to Egypt because they had the blood of their gods on their hands.
The tattoos were in reference to Molech, who babies were sacrificed to and tatoos and body piercings were made to in his honor.
Paul writes in Christ everything is Good, but not everything is profitable:
1Cor 6:12
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“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything.
RSV “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything.
Saying Jesus didn’t change the Law, that He fulfilled it, Isn’t enough.
The Law helped to point man to his sin, but gave him no power to overcome it, in Jesus the law is written on our hearts, we feel guilt and require forgiveness.
Jesus did away with Dietary Law, animal Sacrifice to atone for sin, ritual washing, and the list can go on!!!
Imagery was all over the Temple which included images of God’s Creations, Images of heaven The angels @ the Mercy Seat. Images are not in themselves evil, it’d where man takes them to.
When Jesus told the parables He used imagery that the people could understand and identify with. Christ on the Cross, the image of His Love for us, His Resurrection witnessed by The disciples plus five hundred people, are witness and image passed on by them which we believe in faith.
1Cr 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,
1Cr 15:4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,
1Cr 15:5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
1Cr 15:6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
Jhn 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
Images can be good! As Christians and as Catholics we are to profess our faith in Christ, a Cross tattoo can do that.
As far as priests with tattoos, you can’t prove they don’t have one, and he can’t prove they do, however, lots of men have turned to the priesthood later in life I know several who have done so in their late forties, could they have gotten tattoos in their youth? in the miltary sure, bit if they did it doesn’t make them illegitimate or evil.
