Some time back I wrote an article about this whole mess which is posted on our Miguel Pro website:

 

 

What I didn't put in the article was that the same fellow who sold one of the relic cards I made (and send out free) and claimed it was OK to do so, later sent me another self addressed envelope and a five dollar bill with a overly pious flowery request for five more! for "friends."    I really lost it and phoned him.  Hopefully I at least gave him a mjor scare -- he couldn't figure out how I knew who had done it nor how I got his phone number and I didn't explain that I got into my day job by being a private investigator. 

 

The whole point of my article is that the only way to stop the abuse of relics is to ignore those for sale.  "Rescuing them" only fuels the market. 

 

I suspect most of the first class relics for sale come from estates where the previous owner failed to designate someone to receive them.  Some are definitely fakes.  A few years back, though, Serafin did find and expose a man who was actually faking relics.  He sold them for just a "donation" -- ha!  I have to admit that when one of my "relic hound" friends discovered several of his were from this crook and were fakes I wasn't very successful at covering up my "I warned you" look. 

 

I have also seen some relics on eBay whee the seller had no idea what he had an intended to make a fortune on it anyway.  One was labled a relic of Pro but was one of the martyrs of Spain.

 

Ciao,

ann