Posted on 04/14/2005 9:41:53 PM PDT by WildReeling
MT. LAUREL, N.J., April 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In online commerce nothing is sacred - at least, that is the message of an email eBay wrote to concerned Catholics who expressed their disgust at the auction of a Eucharistic host, allegedly consecrated by the late Pope John Paul II.
In an email response, eBay claimed that as a diverse community it could not prohibit the sale of items that were not illegal, although they may be distasteful to some of its members.
"As Catholics we profess a belief that Jesus did not debate the meaning of the word 'is,'" said Paul Nowak, author of Guerrilla Apologetics: A Pocket Guide for Catholics. "When He said, 'This is My body,' we take it to mean that the host truly becomes His Presence, not just a symbol or mere relic, regardless of what priest consecrated it.
"eBay has not been consistent in its policy to allow the sale of all legal items, as it has pulled listings referring to serial killers out of respect to the victims and Nazi items that might offend the Jewish community. Even Mormon garments were pulled by eBay, according to NBC affiliate KSL-TV 5." As for Catholics, eBay has refused to prohibit the sale of what we and our Anglican, Episcopalian, and Lutheran brethren consider to be the body of our Lord.
"This is no different then selling Him for 30 pieces of silver," concluded Nowak.
By permitting the listings, eBay is encouraging copycats to enter Catholic churches under false pretenses in order to obtain consecrated hosts, or to buy readily-available unconsecrated hosts and sell them fraudulently as consecrated ones. Both actions are insulting and spiteful to Catholics.
Nowak encourages Catholics to engage in sanctions against eBay, including sale of the company's stock, boycotting the service, and registering complaints.
Nowak added that he has since stopped using eBay-owned Paypal to process payments at his site, even though it has been the most popular payment option.
While it has been reported that the purchaser of the consecrated host was a Catholic intending to prevent further sacrilege, Nowak suggests Catholics resist the urge to purchase the Eucharist on eBay in the future.
"Like the United States," said Nowak, "We should not negotiate with hostage-takers."
More information can be found on the boycott at R.A.G.E. Media's homepage, http://www.dyinglight.com.
Then, I do it again a couple of months later, only this time I got the "consecrated host" at Lourdes.
Don't get sucked in by this stuff. Ignore these people, and they'll go away.
Sorry Deacon, "these people" won't stop unless EBAY stops facilitating them. Novak is right, you are (AGAIN) wrong, in my opinion.
I was thinking the same thing. It's not that hard to get an unconsecrated hosts from any church, I could get bags of them, and then put them up for sale and say it was from the pope's funeral.
But then again, E-bay and pay pal shouldn't be allowing this and should have put an end to this catholic slander right away.
I think EBay should refuse this kind of auction, but what good does it do for a bunch of people who don't use EBay to urge a boycott?
But this is such an obvious scam.....
What good does standing up for Our Lord do? Go to bed Deacon, you need rest.
I don't shop at EBay, but most of my family members do and they're devout Catholics. I will pass on the story to them.
*FYI*
An obvious scam
and disgusting too.
another reason why we need to go back to communion on the tongue. that is the reason why the church did that for so many centuries so it could avoid abuses like this.
Has little to do with the tasteless sellers at this point. Those scum will always exist. It's that EBay has now explicitly endorsed it on their own site. Hugely disappointing to me.
Has little to do with the tasteless sellers at this point. Those scum will always exist. It's that EBay has now explicitly endorsed it on their own site. Hugely disappointing to me.
Stupid, unless money is not the object.
The boycott is a good idea.
I suggest letters to eBay's executive team:
Maynard Webb, Chief Operating Officer
William Cobb, President of eBay North America
Pierre Omidyar, Founder & Chairman of the Board
Meg Whitman, President & CEO
Their business address:
eBay, Inc.
2145 Hamilton Avenue
San Jose, CA 95125
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