Corporate Facilitation of Sacrilege

LifeSiteNews reports on eBay's response to outrage over the auction of Holy Communion on its site -- which has deservedly prompted even more outrage.

"Catholic League president William Donohue criticized eBay for offending Catholics and refusing to withdraw the item. He said, 'We are told that eBay has decided not to prohibit any item "endowed with sacred properties by certain religious groups." …It would be instructive to know which religious groups eBay would protect. Obviously, Catholics did not make the cut, so who did?'

"Further inquiries have elicited the response from eBay that, while the company 'fully respects' the 'handful' of people who complained, it was determined that the sale of the Eucharist did not violate company policies."

LifeSiteNews has links to the original auction page as well as contact information for eBay.

UPDATE - The Diocese of Sioux City announced on Friday that its Apostolic Administrator, Monsignor Roger J. Augustine, met with the seller, who apparently repented, terminated the sale, apologized, and gave the host to Monsignor for appropriate disposition.

The Diocese added that "Although this specific issue has been resolved, the Diocese still has differences with E-Bay and its policy governing the listing of items that are offensive to people of faith. E-Bay officials contend they see nothing offensive with the sale of such items on their website. Many Catholic organizations and individuals have taken issue with that policy and apparently are making their opinions known to E-Bay officials."
(hat tip: LifeSite)

FURTHER UPDATE: eBay is reported to have changed its policy to prohibit sales of the Eucharist and other "highly sacred items."