8/21/25 – Fr. Michael Copenhagen - Are Tattoos Portals to the Demonic?

Fr. Michael Copenhagen is a Melkite (Eastern Catholic) priest, husband, and father, at St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Melkite Catholic Church in Gates, New York. He holds a Bachelors of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. In Today's Show: Many of my traditional Catholic friends are exploring Eastern Orthodoxy because they feel it has preserved liturgy and doctrine more faithfully than the post-Vatican II Church. How should we respond to these claims, especially when Orthodoxy seems to outwardly resemble pre-conciliar Catholicism more than modern Rome? Is it okay to listen to YouTube talks given by Eastern Orthodox priests? In the Confiteor, it talks about sinning in one's thoughts. Is it truly possible to sin simply in your thoughts? When does anger/raising voice at a family member become a mortal sin? Does it matter if they have dementia or another illness that affects mental processes? I've been invited to a Kingdom Hall service, as well as a meeting of the Freemasons (as a guest). Is it safe to say I should decline those invitations? Is there a greater efficiency in having an individual Mass for a person vs a family Mass for all the members of the family? If partaking in the body and blood of Christ is essential to eternal life according to scripture, why do faithful Christians struggle to understand the belief of feeling worthy of it? As an altar server, I can't touch the ciborium without gloves on. How can laymen be authorized to touch the Eucharist with their bare hands as parishioners or Eucharistic ministers? I've seen some exorcists claim that tattoos are a portal to demons (although I don't believe it is backed by the Church). I have a few tattoos and plan to get more (all related to my religion and heritage), so I'm just wondering your stance and the official teaching on if it's really a "portal"? Visit the show page at thestationofthecross.com/askapriest to listen live, check out the weekly lineup, listen to podcasts of past episodes, watch live video, find show resources, sign up for our mailing list of upcoming shows, and submit your question for Father!