![\"This](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/455\/2016\/01\/8477255_1453422659.8233.jpg\")
<\/a>Catholic \u201cmaterialism\u201d<\/a> causes strange conundrums and very interesting GoFundMe campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, the Catholic cult of the saints<\/a>\u00a0sometimes gives rise to causes such as this one:<\/p>\n Rare St #Kateri<\/a> reliquary found at liquidation sale! Donate to rescue b4 lost to the world. https:\/\/t.co\/NUFA6P5uyW<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/MCAwPv6cWf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Saint Kateri Center (@SaintKateriCtr) January 23, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center\u2019s GoFundMe campaign<\/a> looks legitimate and earnest:<\/p>\n Help us \u201cBring Saint Kateri Home\u201d! An extremely rare Saint Kateri reliquary has been found at a liquidation sale! We need your help to take this precious relic off the market forever!<\/p>\n This reliquary is going back on the profane market (i.e., secular as compared with the sacred or divine) The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center needs your help to rescue this Saint Kateri Tekakwitha reliquary, containing a large 1st class relic of our beloved Saint Kateri. The reliquary comes with supporting documentation.\u00a0 The names, dates, and other information on the documents are historically accurate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Read the rest of their appeal here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure what the complexities involved in such exchanges of relic might be. I suspect I will find out in the combox. This is something I\u2019d like to learn more about since the physical aspect of Catholicism is so fascinating to me.<\/p>\n The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center<\/a> is a non-profit Catholic faith-based conservation organization that promotes authentic Catholic teaching on ecology<\/a>, conserves nature, and protects life. Promoting the veneration of Saint Kateri, a patron saint of ecology, is an important part of their mission.<\/p>\n Consider helping them after discerning whether this is a worthy cause. They are presently about 1\/3 of the way to their goal.<\/p>\n You might think that 1st class relics would be easy to recover and hardly ever find their way onto the market. However, you would be wrong, there is actually a thriving black market for relics. The Hobby Lobby probe into relic purchases from ISIS<\/a>\u00a0are just the tip of the iceberg. There are also websites that specialize in selling supposed relics. I\u2019ve decided against linking them.<\/p>\n Whether the\u00a0GoFundMe Kateri Campaign<\/a>\u00a0turns out to be legitimate (as I suspect) or not, its presence demonstrates, either way, the viscerally messy nature of Catholicism.<\/p>\n * * *\u00a0* * *\u00a0* * *\u00a0* * *\u00a0* * *<\/p>\n If you are interested in the Catholic \u201cmaterialism\u201d of the cult of the saints, then Peter Brown\u2019s\u00a0The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity<\/a><\/em> is the place to go. Caroline Walker Bynum\u2019s\u00a0The Resurrection of the Body in Western Christianity<\/em><\/a> is another fine scholarly book on the topic.<\/p>\n\n
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\nunless YOU help stop it. Time is running out.<\/p>\n<\/a>