Catholic activist battles online sale of relics
AMBAN
people. (see below) Priorities?
AMBAN
Nhttp://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061124/LOCAL17/611240381/1012ovember
24, 2006
Catholic activist battles online sale of relics
By Brian Murphy
Associated Press
November 24, 2006
Hardly an hour goes by without Thomas Serafin or one of his cyber-sleuths
checking what eBay has to offer.
Their interest is bone shards, bits of wizened flesh and a contemporary twist on
the sacred and the profane: How the ancient trade in the most coveted religious
relics has moved into the global flea market of online bidding.
"You can find bone fragments supposedly from St. Augustine being hawked on the
Internet along with trinkets and antiques. There is something very wrong here,"
said Serafin, a professional photographer and Catholic activist based in Los
Angeles. Serafin has led an expanding campaign since the late 1990s to block the
online sale of objects purported to contain the remains of Christian saints.
Last month, Serafin's group, the International Crusade for Holy Relics, opened a
new front that's truly worthy of a David-and-Goliath metaphor: a call to boycott
eBay.
It seeks to pressure the world's largest online auction site to close alleged
loopholes used to bypass its ban on allowing bids on human remains.
Hani Durzy, spokesman for eBay, said the San Jose, Calif.-based company is "very
willing to reopen talks" with Serafin's group about its concerns after
discussions broke off about a year ago.
"As far as the boycott, well, we've really seen no impact to speak of," Durzy
said. "We don't know if it's even still in place."
But Serafin said the symbolism is what's important.
"Yes, it's just a blip on the screen," he said. "But we want to make a point.
They are taking the same position as Judas. They are selling out the church."
Interest in religious patrimony of all types -- from icons to stained glass --
has soared in recent years, along with the blockbuster novel "The Da Vinci
Code," the Christian-themed "Left Behind" series and major museum exhibits
devoted to art and spirituality. At the same time, a flood of ecclesiastical
items has entered mainstream antiquarian markets from once-flourishing churches
that were closed because of shrinking congregations or population shifts away
from older city neighborhoods.
But the sale of so-called "first-class relics" -- bone, flesh, hair, nails and
fragments of other body parts -- remains a murky subculture, one that's
increasingly shifting from the back rooms of dealers' shops to the Web's
worldwide mall.
Dozens of religious items are on eBay at any time. Most are ordinary objects
such as icons, medals or prayer cards. But Serafin thinks the strongest interest
is for the first-class relics, which he says have accounted for up to 40 percent
of the eBay relic listings at times.
"This is where the real action is," he said. "This is where our fight is."
Serafin describes his motivation as part consciousness-raiser and part consumer
crusader.
He calls the sale of such relics deeply offensive to believers in their
sanctity.
Most churches with centuries-old traditions in the display and veneration of
relics, including the Roman Catholic and Orthodox, prohibit the sale of objects
believed to hold body parts.
--
+ And once again, ..... you pull out the old lie that church officials "CLAIM"
to be moral authorities. They do not. Stop saying it.+ Church officials SHOULD
lead upright and moral lives that SHOULD be above reproach. Just like all cops,
security people, bus drivers, babysitters should maintain the highest standards.
Patrick Barker - 12 Nov 2006
Katie Lynn
AMBAN wrote:
So our reliquarium holding the sacred fingernail clippings and mascara brush of Pope Joan at
ARCER headquarters ought not be offered in e-bay?
--
Dr. Kathleen F. Lynn
Chief Medical Officer- ICA-1916
One of the Lesbian Immortals
We Never Die
"None so fitted to break the chains as they who wear them, none so well equipped to decide
what is a fetter."
James Connolly
http://www.rascal-films.com/connolly/connolly.html
Fred
Hey, the church used to pawn off pieces of the true cross, oil soaked
in the bones of martyrs, the original head of John the Baptist, the
holy grail, the original crown of thorns, the spear that pierced
Christ's side, a cloth that wiped the blood off Christ's face , Plus
they sold indulgences and people would bear false witness so that the
church could get its hands on someone's property. They are getting
tithes to this day from Catholics who obtained Jewish property. Plus I
am missing a lot of other Catholic money makers. A person can make a
lot of money if he could properly market relics at a Virgin Mary
sighting.
Fred
Hey, the church used to pawn off pieces of the true cross, oil soaked
Fred
I also forgot that there is an active market selling water from the
spring at Lourdes.
AMBAN
I think it is a sin to sell relics BUT if we sell a container that they happen
to reside in it is okay.
AMBAN
>
>
>--
>Dr. Kathleen F. Lynn
>Chief Medical Officer- ICA-1916
>One of the Lesbian Immortals
>We Never Die
>
>"None so fitted to break the chains as they who wear them, none so well equipped
>to decide
>what is a fetter."
>James Connolly
>http://www.rascal-films.com/connolly/connolly.html
>
>
AMBAN
My grandmother gave me some to drink when I was a child.
AMBAN
Fred
you feel like going out and walking on water. Did you try to ressurect
the dead. Did you feel like a totally new person? Or did you just
feel like taking a piss a couple hours later?
MirandaWrites...@gmail.com
AMBAN wrote:
> I think Serafin should battle against the macabre practice of chipping up dead
> people. (see below) Priorities?
>
> AMBAN
>
>
> Nhttp://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061124/LOCAL17/611240381/1012ovember
> 24, 2006
>
>
>
> Catholic activist battles online sale of relics
> By Brian Murphy
> Associated Press
> November 24, 2006
>
>
> Hardly an hour goes by without Thomas Serafin or one of his cyber-sleuths
> checking what eBay has to offer.
Typical eBay addicts- on line for hours on end.
Wonder if he or one of his goons bid on and won ( and was
disappointed by) that Booger Relic I'd found and shared the listing for
with my fellow arcers?
AMBAN
MirandaWrites...@gmail.com says...
Hee hee.
AMBAN
AMBAN
Here you go.
You would think that Mr. Serafin would try to outlaw that. Ick The bidding has
ended but you can still see it by scrolling down.
AMBAN
Karen
"AMBAN" <revetah...@sap234.com> wrote
> MirandaWrites...@gmail.com says...
> >AMBAN wrote:
Wow, that's a lot for a Holy Bogie!
Karen