Well, the hand of St. Stephen.
Peter Watts could have shopped at home for the True Cross and the Hand
of St. Sebastian.
Sales of Religious Relics Draw Protest
By Brian Murphy
Associated Press
Hardly an hour goes by without Thomas Serafin or one of his
cyber-sleuths checking what eBay has to offer.
They're not hunting for bargains, and they never place a bid. Their
interest is bone shards, bits of wizened flesh and a contem****ary 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.
Relics of human remains, such as these bones of Saint Cruser, cannot be
sold on eBay, but some say dealers have ways to evade the ban.
"You can find bone fragments supposedly from Saint 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. Since the late 1990s,
Serafin has led an expanding campaign to block the online sale of
objects pur****ted to contain the remains of Christian saints.
Last month, Serafin's group, the International Crusade for Holy Relics,
opened a new front 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 for human
remains.
Hani Durzy, spokesman for eBay, said the San Jose, Calif., 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 im****tant. "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" book 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-flouri****ng churches that are closing because of
shrinking congregations or population ****fts 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 ****fting 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 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.
Then there is the caveat emptor -- "let the buyer beware" -- factor.
Clear do***entation on a first-class relic is extremely rare, and fraud
is as old as faith -- as noted more than 600 years ago in a scene from
"The Canterbury Tales" in which pigs' bones and a pillowcase are part of
a cache of dubious relics brought from Rome.
Some recent offerings on eBay included the air that Christ pur****tedly
breathed, the supposed wing of the Holy Spirit and the alleged hand of
Saint Stephen.
Serafin also says the rules -- both canon and eBay's -- are on his side.
Most churches with centuries-old traditions in the display and
veneration of relics, including the Roman Catholic and Orthodox branches
of Christianity, prohibit the sale of objects thought to hold body parts.
The extensive list of eBay's banned items include Nazi paraphernalia,
firearms and ammunition and "human parts and remains."
Durzy said eBay has more than 2,000 people assigned to cull prohibited
items from the site but noted that blanket enforcement is a challenge
with up to 7 million new items going up for bid every day.
Sellers don't make it any easier. Many now make a point of saying that
the reliquary, or container, is for sale and the actual relic is a
"gift." There are even conflicting linguistic signals. On Monday, a
seller posted a relic of Saint Eymard, a 19th-century priest, that was
described as "ex ossibus," Latin for "from the bones." But the fuller
text says the relic "does not contain any human parts."
Attempts by the Associated Press to reach the seller -- and several
other relic dealers on eBay -- via e-mail contact information were
unsuccessful.
"We just want the same rules that apply to guns, Nazi items or the bones
of American Indians," said Serafin, whose group is a loose association
of about 200 members worldwide.
Across the time zones, they try to keep a round-the-clock vigil on eBay
for any suspicious relics. They fire off e-mails to eBay and the seller
-- who is often known only by an online nickname and e-mail address --
asking for the item to be withdrawn.
But it's a ***bersome process.
Late last month, Serafin's group protested what they considered an "ex
ossibus" relic of Saint John Vianney. The sale went ahead, starting at
$25. Twenty-seven bids later, an anonymous buyer picked it up for $565,
plus $12 ****pping.
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