No

by Mary Claire Kendall

Created on: February 03, 2009   Last Updated: July 19, 2009

If you really want to know what the Church thinks about a subject, Scripture and tradition (i.e., from "traditio," meaning the faith "handed down" through the ages) is the place to look!

Both shed light on the twin issues of tattoos and body piercings.

The Church weighs the "intrinsic" good or evil of an act. Since tattoos and body piercings are not "intrinsically evil," it's the intention that counts.

If you don't intend to debase or cause harm - physical, psychological, spiritual - to yourself or other persons, these practices are moral.

But, make sure, as best you can, that the actual result is, indeed, benign! Sometimes this might require prayerful reflection or careful research; or perhaps consulting someone with spiritual depth - or health or medical knowledge.

Or, you might simply consult common sense and look in the mirror! If you're a father, now sporting long hair and tattoos from head to toe, and you're running around with a woman not your wife, attending lots of heavy metal concerts, tattoos are obviously part of a lifestyle that's doing great harm to you and your loved ones.

As the Book of Genesis wondrously reveals, "God created man in his own image... "Thus, debasing oneself or others, debases the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.

For those who do not manifest such obvious symptoms of a larger moral problem, knowing where to draw the line can be trickier business.

A basic consideration is whether or not tattoos cause illness or disease, a not uncommon problem with these procedures. If so, they would go against natural law (what is written on our hearts) and the commandments ("Thou Shalt Not Kill").

Life is an awesome gift. We must use it wisely and preserve it.

Or, if the tattoo or body piercing were an act of disobedience or an excessive expense, it would be wrong.

To gain even deeper insight into the nature and morality of these two practices, you might refer to the late, great Pope John Paul II's lectures, 129 in all, which he gave at his Wednesday general audiences between September 1979 and November 1984 - later published as "The Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan."

Fr. Richard Benson studied them as they relate to tattooing and body piercing.

"Understanding and respecting the beauty and wonder of the body as a biological and spiritual unity," Benson summarized, "is the proper foundation for moral decisions that involve the body." ("The Tidings," July 2008)

"The level of that first account of our creation is especially of a theological character," John Paul said in his September 12, 1979 lecture on the Biblical Account of Creation. "It affirms the absolute impossibility of reducing persons to the world ... people cannot be either understood or explained completely in terms or categories taken from the 'world' ... notwithstanding this, people also are corporeal."

We are called, the Pope said, to be "stewards" more than "owners" of these good gifts of the body.

"Any actions," Benson explained, "that attack or harm one's own or another's body without a commensurate reason is immoral."

Further, Benson added, "moral stewardship of the body is not only a negative one (don't smoke, don't mutilate the body ... ). It also entails a positive mandate, that we are morally responsible to do what is in our power to maintain good health."

In short, providing basic parameters of love and justice are observed, as illumined by the Church through the ages, tattooing and body piercing are just fine.

Mind you, from an aesthetical standpoint, many look askance at these procedures; but since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you may think tattooing a rose on your shoulder is a work of art!

You wouldn't be alone. Tattoos, along with body piercings, date back to ancient times, the oldest evidence of which was found on the tattooed skin of the 5000-year-old Bronze Age corpse, Otzi, showing among other markings, a cross.

So it continues to this day - National Geographic estimating some 15% of Americans are tattooed. And, business is booming - US News & World Report saying it's the 6th fastest growing retail business - which makes this question extremely relevant.

Thanks to John Paul II and his predecessors, the answers should be that much clearer.

Learn more about this author, Mary Claire Kendall.
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