Hardly an hour goes by without Thomas Serafin or one of his cybersleuths checking what eBay has to offer.

They’re not hunting for bargains and never place a bid. 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 who 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 for human remains.

Hani Durzy, spokesman for eBay Inc., 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.”

Posted: 11|25|06 at 11:28 am. Filed under: Auction News.