I'm shocked (not really, but still) to see several priests sporting mohawk haircuts

The mohawk is a haircut with shaved sides and a longer central strip, and some priests are now wearing it. There is no church rule banning it, though it clashes with the idea of sobriety associated with the clergy.

## What exactly is a mohawk

The mohawk involves shaving both sides of the head and leaving a noticeably longer central strip of hair, like a crest. That's the definition given by Wikipedia, and it matches the popular image of the cut. Today it is worn as an emblem of nonconformity, according to the same source.

That's where much of the fuss comes from. A priest with a mohawk isn't just wearing a hairstyle: he's wearing a symbol that popular culture associates with rebellion. And rebellion, on a priest, gets read into.

## Clerical aesthetics and sobriety

There is no written canon on priests' hairstyles. The Catholic Church regulates celibacy, liturgy and doctrine, but not the length of a fringe. What does exist is a cultural expectation of sobriety, of a certain restraint in the appearance of someone who represents an institution.

That expectation is what gets broken when someone sees a priest with shaved sides. The scandal, as the person raising it admits, is moderate. There is no sin in the haircut, but there is an aesthetic discomfort that many parishioners feel and keep to themselves.

## The theological argument being made

The underlying objection is not aesthetic but theological. The priest is supposed to resemble Christ, who became incarnate and made himself like everyone except in sin. A haircut claimed as an emblem of nonconformity breaks that logic of identification with ordinary people.

It's a debatable argument, because nonconformity can also be understood as an evangelical sign. But those who make it are clear: the mohawk doesn't fit a being who is supposed to conform to the world, except in sin.

## What doesn't change

The debate about hair doesn't touch the sacramental function. A priest with a mohawk baptizes, hears confessions and celebrates Mass just like one with a side parting. The discussion is about image, not validity.

And like every debate about image, it dies down on its own. In a few years the mohawk will be something else and no one will remember this fuss. Meanwhile, the haircut is still there, on some heads, and the question of whether it fits or not remains without an official answer.