eBay: Holy Communion wafer didn't promote hate or violence
By Michele Linck Journal staff writer | Posted: Thursday, April 14, 2005
An eBay spokesman explained Wednesday why the online auction site allowed the sale of a Holy Communion wafer allegedly blessed by the late Pope John Paul II in 1998 at his 20th anniversary Mass.
The wafer was offered on Saturday by a seller in Sloan, Iowa, and sold on Monday for $2,000 to a man in Cupertino, Calif.
The Diocese of Sioux City let it be known Tuesday that is was offended by the item's listing.
Hani Durzy of eBay said the listing "kicked up a minor controversy at eBay," as well. But, he said, it was determined that the listing did not violate eBay's policy of what can be posted.
The company does not review listings before they are posted, Durzy said, but with 135 million registered users around the world, eBay is quickly alerted to any offensive material. Then the item is reviewed.
"We certainly looked at this one," he said, after getting "a handful" of phone calls and e-mails.
Durzy said while eBay "completely respects" the people who complained, it was determined that the sale of the Eucharist did not violate company policies.
"Our basic policy is, if it's illegal to sell off of eBay, it can't be sold on eBay," Durzy said. "Selling the (wafer) itself is not illegal. Above and beyond the law, we have a list of prohibited and restricted items. A classic example is guns -- no guns, no prescription drugs, limits on travel packages, alcohol and a number of other things."
In addition, he said, eBay has an "offensive materials policy" concerning race, religion, memorabilia owned by murderers and Nazi memorabilia. He said the policy allows eBay to pull listings promoting hatred or violence against an individual or group.
"If the listing doesn't explicitly do that, and this one didn't -- there was nothing in the images or text that promoted hatred or violence toward the Catholic Church in our estimation -- we're not going to pull the listing," Durzy said.
He explained that eBay does not sell anything, rather it provides the electronic marketplace where 40 million items are listed for sale at any given time, offered by millions of sellers. He said the site's 135 million users are in virtually every country in the world and represent every religion, race and social strata.
"That diversity extends to religion and beliefs," he said. "We knew there were going to be folks that were deeply offended. In fact, there may be many people here who share their distaste. However, we do our best to tolerate the many viewpoints held by our worldwide community.
"We hope that people understand that in a diverse community, that all opinions must be respected and we're not going to play the morality police," Durzy said. "If people are really, really offended by something on the site, they probably shouldn't bid on it."
The wafer was offered on Saturday by a seller in Sloan, Iowa, and sold on Monday for $2,000 to a man in Cupertino, Calif.
The Diocese of Sioux City let it be known Tuesday that is was offended by the item's listing.
Hani Durzy of eBay said the listing "kicked up a minor controversy at eBay," as well. But, he said, it was determined that the listing did not violate eBay's policy of what can be posted.
The company does not review listings before they are posted, Durzy said, but with 135 million registered users around the world, eBay is quickly alerted to any offensive material. Then the item is reviewed.
"We certainly looked at this one," he said, after getting "a handful" of phone calls and e-mails.
Durzy said while eBay "completely respects" the people who complained, it was determined that the sale of the Eucharist did not violate company policies.
"Our basic policy is, if it's illegal to sell off of eBay, it can't be sold on eBay," Durzy said. "Selling the (wafer) itself is not illegal. Above and beyond the law, we have a list of prohibited and restricted items. A classic example is guns -- no guns, no prescription drugs, limits on travel packages, alcohol and a number of other things."
In addition, he said, eBay has an "offensive materials policy" concerning race, religion, memorabilia owned by murderers and Nazi memorabilia. He said the policy allows eBay to pull listings promoting hatred or violence against an individual or group.
"If the listing doesn't explicitly do that, and this one didn't -- there was nothing in the images or text that promoted hatred or violence toward the Catholic Church in our estimation -- we're not going to pull the listing," Durzy said.
He explained that eBay does not sell anything, rather it provides the electronic marketplace where 40 million items are listed for sale at any given time, offered by millions of sellers. He said the site's 135 million users are in virtually every country in the world and represent every religion, race and social strata.
"That diversity extends to religion and beliefs," he said. "We knew there were going to be folks that were deeply offended. In fact, there may be many people here who share their distaste. However, we do our best to tolerate the many viewpoints held by our worldwide community.
"We hope that people understand that in a diverse community, that all opinions must be respected and we're not going to play the morality police," Durzy said. "If people are really, really offended by something on the site, they probably shouldn't bid on it."
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