The Tattoo Grinch and the Giving Tree

Each year in late November, the ubiquitous “giving tree” appears in parish churches most everywhere. Typically, the tree is adorned with ornaments, each displaying an anonymous Christmas wish for a needy child in the local area.

By mid-December, the ornaments have all been plucked, and a sprawling pile of Christmas-wrapped gifts forms underneath the tree. At my parish, in years past, I have given pajamas, winter coats, sweaters and mittens to young boys and girls in need—and I always include a small toy, stuffed animal or game “from Santa.”

As I perused the various needs displayed this year, handwritten on cards by parish volunteers, one immediately caught my eye.  “18-year-old girl,” someone had scrawled on the card, “wants a tattoo artist learning kit.” Wait, what?

Images flooded my mind of the heavily tattooed young (and not so young) adults I encounter with increasing frequency these days. The pharmacy clerk at my drugstore. The man who bags my groceries at the supermarket. Even a medical assistant at my doctor’s office, who also has multiple body piercings and, incidentally, greeted me at a recent appointment dressed as the Grinch Who Stole Christmas – “because it’s dress-up-as-your-favorite-Christmas- character day!”—with putrid green paint on her face that still did not quite cover the tattoos beneath it.

These folks may be courteous and efficient in their jobs, but I find it disturbing that they and countless others are driven to permanently deface their bodies to the extreme. What has changed since the days not so long ago when polite society either frowned on such things or paid money to view them in circus sideshows? More to the point, whatever happened to polite society?

Without hesitation, I snatched the tattoo kit gift request and stuffed it in my purse, mostly to remove it from the sight of someone who might actually follow through on it. Oh-so-very-briefly I considered tossing it in the trash. And then my conscience weighed in. I should—I must!—write a most charitable letter to the young lady about Catholic teaching on tattoos (surely the Catechism addresses this, right?) and include an Amazon gift card for whatever she desired, even the dratted tattoo artist kit if I was unable to convince her otherwise.

I set out to make my case by first searching online, confident of finding a wealth of catechesis on the topic. After all, as I was always taught, Leviticus 19:28 makes no bones about it—God forbids us to mark up our bodies!

 Much to my dismay and shock, such catechesis was not to be readily found, in the Catechism or otherwise.

“Tattoos are visible signs of lived faith” gushed an online magazine called U.S. Catholic, which claims to be “a courageous, forward-thinking forum for discussion among a broad range of voices.” The article was quick to quote His Holiness in support of its thesis:

“Don’t be afraid of tattoos,” Pope Francis instructed, because they can be starting points for priests to connect with the young. He continued on to say that “tattoos signify membership in a community” and can open up conversations about belonging.

In short order, I also discovered a very popular priest who proudly brandishes a tattoo; a number of websites that serve to encourage and destigmatize tattoo wearers; and even a traditional Catholic men’s blog that gives its blessing to the tatted, saying “we must be careful not to make this a moral issue when there is no clear magisterial teaching on it.”

To which I respond, hmmph.

Just as I had decried, while raising my children in the 80s and 90s -- with the same rules and prohibitions imposed on me by my own parents, by the way -- in a world that seemingly overnight decided that we parents should be buddies instead of disciplinarians to our offspring:  What has changed?  

When and why did the Church decide to go silent on teaching that tattoos violate the dignity of the human body? When and why did Catholics begin to proclaim tatts as practically sacramental?

The more I searched, the more Catholic opinions I found that poo-pooed Leviticus 19:28 as having no relevance to the modern phenomenon, as it was meant for ancient pagans who tattooed themselves in deference to false gods. Still, I could not reconcile how a behavior considered deviant for millennia was now fueling, as I discovered, a mushrooming $2 billion global industry!

Finally, my search led me to Ask Fr. Leo: Tattoos on the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Fr. Leo, a priest in the Archdiocese of Anchorage/Juneau, hits the nail on the head in my humble opinion.  He cites moral theologian E. Christian Brugger, who calls out the current tattoo trend as an outward expression of “I can do with my body anything I want!” He goes on:

Doing so puts one on perilous moral ground. As Brugger says, “Seeing our bodies as things rather than persons, as instruments at the service of our conscious selves, is part of a mentality that accompanies some of the gravest sins of our age: bodies without consciousness.” Thus, one ends up at a place where they believe “I am not my body. My body is something I use.”

And there you have it. Tattoos as “body art” are yet another expression of “My body, my choice!” . . . and perhaps they are mere steps away from the notion that one can change his or her sexual identity—or even his or her humanity into a fur-bearing animal, or “furry”—at will.

God does not change. His Word cannot change. His angels cannot change. Satan and his legions of fallen spirits cannot change. Only we can change . . . and it is always best for us to change from our fallen nature into the God-loving people He intended us to be.

Here is my letter to the young woman who asked for a tattoo artist kit. I also sent her an article referenced by Father Leo, and I truly hope that I will not be the Grinch who stole her Christmas, but rather a person who cared enough to open her eyes to unchangeable Truth. Please pray an Ave Maria for her.

Dear Young Lady,

This letter brings you my sincere wishes for a Merry Christmas, with an Amazon gift card that you may use for whatever you desire!

You asked for a “tattoo artist learning kit” – so if that is what you would like, then you will find many, many options on Amazon. But I pray you will first read my letter and pray about, or at least consider, what I have to say. In fact, I hope you will consider my message as a better Christmas gift than the Amazon card!

It’s very interesting how mainstream tattoos have become. My father has one on his right upper arm that says “Lucky Strike”, the result of an impulsive decision he made as a young, 19-year-old man while serving in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s. Tattoos were largely frowned upon by society in those days, and he has spent his adult life wearing shirts with sleeves long enough to conceal it. As a child, I remember he would never go without a shirt—even at the swimming pool—because he was embarrassed of that tattoo and still is to this very day.

Now, I am fully aware that tattoos have long since become not only acceptable but desirable. They are no longer frowned upon but are proudly worn by much of society. I invite you to ponder why and how this has happened.

After all, if becoming a tattoo artist is your ambition, you will want to know these things—if for no other reason than to understand your future customers. The most successful business people invest a great deal of time in learning what their customers want and why.

I could take you through a lengthy history of tattoos, the earliest of which appeared as early as 3300 BC. Suffice it to say the first tattoos were not seen as “body art” or a fashion statement. 

Briefly: Pagan and tribal cultures saw tattoos as magic charms to ward off misfortune. Ancient Romans tattooed criminals and slaves to mark them as outcasts of society. In the modern era, Nazis did the same to the Jews in their concentration camps, as did Russian Communists to their prisoners in the Siberian gulags. By the 19th and early 20th centuries, tribal peoples and others with tattoos were seen as curiosities and often put on exhibit. Every circus had a “tattooed lady” (or man) that people would pay money to see!

What in the world has happened to change society’s view of tattoos from strange and unbecoming to a trend so popular that 1 in 7 people in North American now have at least one tattoo?!

For centuries—in fact, until the late 20th century—Catholics adhered to the Word of God revealed in the Bible, Leviticus 19:28:  You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh, for the dead, neither shall you make in yourselves any figures or marks: I am the Lord.

Why? Because this was seen as a grave offense to the dignity of the human body, created by God in His image.

Although the Scripture has not changed and cannot change (because God does not change), many if not most Catholics have changed their view on tattoos. You will find innumerable tattoo designs depicting Jesus, the Cross, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and so on. I know of one popular “celebrity” priest who sports a tattoo on his podcast. Does this make it right?

You are a smart, young woman with a God-given talent that you plan to use in creating tattoos. I only ask that you ponder these questions very thoroughly before taking the next step. I’ve enclosed an article that I believe will help you understand the tattoo phenomenon and why it is harmful to our culture.

God blessed you with special talents and skills. Please know He wants you to use the gifts He gave you to know, love, and glorify Him in this life in order to have eternal life with Him in Heaven. God loves you more than you can imagine—that is why he humbled Himself to be born in a stable in Bethlehem, at midnight, in the piercing cold, only to sacrifice Himself 33 years later to redeem every sin ever committed by anyone at any time, past, present and future!

Bear that in mind as you ponder how you will live the life that God has given you. He created you to do great things!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Your Secret Santa