"You should never be scared with young people." Not even tattoos, because "always, behind the not so good things there is something that leads us to some truth". This is how the Pope recently responded to a question on the subject, while admitting that there are exaggerations. Perhaps, however, it was a hasty response, precisely because it was made off the cuff, while in reality the phenomenon deserves to be explored in depth, even in its Christian moral aspect.
In Italy in the space of seven years the tattoo industry has experienced great success: over 2700 new centers have been opened, with a clientele that spans from adolescence to the threshold of old age, with peaks in requests from 35 to 50 years old . Body engravings are enjoying great popularity today, whether advertising or commercial. The phenomenon of influencers, famous people, stars, footballers, supported by the internet and social networks, has an enormous weight in spreading this trend which, from a distinctive element of rebellious youth as it initially was, has become homologation and conformism to a fashion.
Tattooing has become public knowledge, as demonstrated for example by sporting events where it is now rare to see a chest or arms without incisions.
In our contemporary society, where appearance prevails, the need for fashion, leather transforms to build a presence in the world.
The tattoo is perceived as something that strengthens one's identity, making the individual representative of a spirit of the time that he believes he has chosen himself.
Inevitably it will happen like all fashions: after time it will go back to the opposite: just see how the "big hats" have been replaced by that of shaved heads. One day the greatest subversion will be to exhibit a body without symbols, without tattoos.
A significant problem, however, is that the real tattoo is irreversible and the attempted removal often leaves scars. Especially for teenagers or weak personalities, greater consideration would be necessary, considering that a tattoo will then have to be worn for life. Not to mention the costs which, in the most sophisticated cases, can reach high figures.
How to ethically evaluate the tattoo? The first thing to keep in mind is that the tattoo is not a dedication of oneself to evil. However, it is also good to consider that the number of tattoos is not secondary to reflect whether there is a disgust for oneself and one's body behind it. Finally everyone should ask themselves: what am I saying with my tattoos? What am I looking for through them?
In fact, tattoos are also revealing of a person's deep personality.
These are not simple drawings on the body, but there is a cultural, anthropological and therefore also spiritual background. The term tatoo itself in its etymology has a reference to the spiritual.
The space available does not allow us to explore the background of the world of occultism linked to this fashion, as reported by numerous experts in this type of study.
However, there remains a question that we are entitled to ask: is it true that "de gustibus non est disputandum", according to the famous saying of Julius Caesar, attested by Plutarch. But is it really necessary to disfigure one's body, for us Christians, God's masterpiece and temple of the Holy Spirit, with images that often make it repulsive?
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have received from God?” and "each of you should know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor" exhorts Saint Paul (1 Cor 6,19; 1 Thess 4,4).
