A charity auction isn't the only measure the Pope could take to counter criticism that his lavish fashion sense is too materialistic.  He could also replace his expensive bling with a far cheaper tattoo. 

As this newspaper article observes, religious tattoos are on the rise in the U.S., from the Bible verses on Duke's J.J. Redick and to the Hindu lotus flower.

Just we have long worn clothing has as "an extension of the skin" both to warm our bodies and to define ourselves, many now freely using their skin as an extension of their soul.  This should not come as no surprise.  Back in 1964 Marshall McLuhan observed that

After centuries of being fully clad and of being contained in uniform visual space, the electric age ushers us into a world in which we live and breathe and listen with the entire epidermis.

The Bahai tattoo above represents the fundamental unity of all religions, but it could also symbolize what McLuhan referred to as the "all-at-onceness" created by electronic technology.  People, places, objects, time--everything now flows together, smashing the divisions and taboos of the literate West.  Which also brings with the supreme irony of our technological age--

by immersing us in a world in which every surface is a communications medium, computers and the Web have actually helped revive our tribal spirit.