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"?

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