Etsy Admits Sale of Consecrated Hosts Violated Policy
On May 7th, an unknown buyer purchased "nine real Catholic hosts, consecrated by a priest” from a Germany-based Etsy seller for $11.58. The seller, who called himself “AL” and his business “Pentagora,” said the hosts were “to abuse for classic black fairs or black magic purposes.” In response to a petition with over 10,000 signatures demanding the online marketplace ban the sales of consecrated hosts, the company admitted that such a sale was in violation of their policies.
Etsy’s policy manager, Jess Kallberg, responded to the petition by saying “the reselling (sic) of consecrated hosts” is a violation of their policies and that the company removed the listing once they were notified about it.
Kallberg could not guarantee the sale of the Eucharist could never happen again, because Etsy does not pre-approve every item listed for sale.
“We rely on each seller to ensure the items they list adhere to our policies, and our specialized teams take action when we see items that violate these policies,” Kallberg explained. “We strongly encourage anyone who sees an item that violates our policies to submit a flag by clicking the ‘Report this item to Etsy’ link at the bottom of the listing.”
Sources: Life Site News and Catholic News Agency