Don’t be afraid of tattoos, says Pope – ink can be link between priests and the young

‘Even behind the things that are not so good, there is something that will bring us to some truth’

THE POPE has turned his attention to tattoos – saying they can help build communities.

At a meeting with young people ahead of a forthcoming synod of Catholic bishops, Pope Francis told them: “Don’t be afraid of tattoos”.

Answering a question from a Ukrainian student priest about how to respond to present-day culture, the Pope told his audience of around 300 young people that body art was not necessarily a bad thing.

He mentioned cultural examples where tattoos had been a symbol of religious faith – such as in Eritrea, where it used to be common for Christian girls to have a tattoo of a cross on their foreheads as a symbol of beauty.

He said that, while in some cases the number of tattoos was “exaggerated”, they could also be a symbol of faith. “The Eritreans for years made the cross here [the forehead]. Also today we see them. The cross was tattooed. Yes, they are exaggerations, but today I see some,” he said.

He added that young priests could use them to connect with the people they were trying to reach out to, because the tattoos often communicated information about the person. A tattoo could become a talking point and a way for the priest to find out more about an individual, he said, and to connect with “the culture of the young”.

He said: “Tattoos often signify membership in a community. ‘You, young man, that you’re tattooed like that, what are you looking for? In this tattoo, which community membership are you expressing?’

“It’s important not to be scared. With young people, one should never be scared! Never! Because always, even behind the things that are not so good, there is something that will bring us to some truth.”

The Pope’s comments, originally reported by the website Churchpop, were made ahead of the synod, which is focused around the topic Young People, Faith and the Discernment of Vocation. The Pope also condemned Catholics who pay for prostitutes, saying the practice was a “crime against humanity”. He asked forgiveness for Catholics who participated in these “criminal acts”.

He said young people “must be taken seriously” and are often “marginalised from ordinary public life”.