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Or alternatively abolish the distance requirements altogether and return to the situation before the 1993 Holy Year when the Compostela was given to all those who visited the shrine of the Apostle in "pietatis causa".
Agree with @Bradypus here. Even 100km are too much for people with illnesses that prevent them from walking. Why should they be "punished"? Surely, if you believe any of this matters, the intent counts, and not the distance or discomfort you subject yourself to.
Erm ... I have not bothered to read the FICS proposal again but I'm trying to look at it from the point of view of the actors involved in Galicia: considerably fewer Compostelas will be given out, hence there will be considerably fewer pilgrim-walkers, considerably fewer bebidas and comidas will be consumed and considerably fewer camas will be filled. Because it is assumed that considerably fewer people will walk 300 km than 100 km. It is assumed that will just not bother to walk to Santiago at all anymore. Because what's the point of walking from Sarria to Santiago, of walking through green and rural Galicia, if you don't get a Compostela in the end???Surely the number of pilgrims (as number of Compostelas given) would decrease a lot (I suppose this would drive more than one in the cathedral crazy), but, in my opinion, it would greatly improve the Camino. I hope the idea is still alive!
I partially agree with this.a lot less Compostelas will be given out, hence there will be a lot less pilgrim-walkers, a lot less bebidas and comidas will be consumed and a lot less camas will be filled
I wonder whether any attempts have been made to evaluate how many of those who start in Sarria etc are Spanish and how many are visitors from abroad and how many would say that they would not go on a 100 km walk/pilgrimage from Sarria if they wouldn't get a Compostela.I actually don't begrudge all the new starters at 100km + because most of them are Spanish and when it comes down to it, it's their country resources, taxes and their culture what make the infrastructure around all of the Camino so amazing.
Not if the compostella is awarded as described by @Bradypus in post #3 on this thread.I think that throwing out the 100KM requirement will make it harder for those walking for religious reasons to gain the compestella!
The last company I worked for gave 1.5 HOURS of personal time off each months.
I can see your point! Not only the Americans, but also many people for whom the Compostela is important, who are true pilgrims but who lack the time and / or the ability to walk long distances and / or for a long time.Starting in Sarria is the only recourse for many Americans.
we need to keep looking for some kind of solution! This about the 300km or restrictions in the albergues or ....
Not if the compostella is awarded as described by @Bradypus in post #3 on this thread.
reaching Santiago IS the goal
Our best bet would be to lobby the Church for the gravely ill, the aged and the infirm to have no walking requirment, ask for the able-bodied requirement to be moved to 300KM, demand that "walking in the stead" of another unable to walk (documented individual too old or sick to travelJ) be reinstated with a 100KM requirement for the substitutes.
Or alternatively abolish the distance requirements altogether and return to the situation before the 1993 Holy Year when the Compostela was given to all those who visited the shrine of the Apostle in "pietatis causa". At the end of my first Camino I was asked about my motivation for walking and the religious and spiritual aspects of my journey. No one counted stamps or consulted lists of approved starting points and routes. Why make it a prize for physical achievement? If that is what it has now become then it would be more honest of the cathedral to change the wording to reflect what the Compostela actually means in practice today.
Point taken, I will change my statement to " It's possible most people who start in Sarria are...." It will be difficult to add the numbers up due to the large number of possible locations they could spend their 1st night. The pilgrim office in Santiago could do it but it would probably add to and complicate things a little bit for them. |
I'd actually be curious to know and, like you, I, too, think that the majority of the people who start in Sarria are Spanish.
Point taken, I will change my statement to " It's possible most people who start in Sarria are...."
I am aware of the economics and the various considerations about compostelas. It is complicated and I haven't formed an opinion on what the requirements should be. (It isn't really my business.)I agree with you and Bradypus. But you must learn to see things in terms of dollars/cents.
I think @lizlane makes a compelling argument about potentially cutting out a whole group of people who couldn't do 300kms for lack of time or other resources.
I often wonder as someone who'll be embarking on their third CF this autumn if there shouldn't be a limit to the number of Compostelas you can collect on a single route (perhaps not ever but over the course of say 5 years) in order to give first timers a better chance of enjoying the kind of experience many of us had years ago? Maybe the ever informative @t2andreo could give us a clue as to whether the Pilgrim Office has the database facilites to enforce such a rule? I'm sure a determined person could dodge the system but if you knew your details were going to be crosschecked it might be enough to put people off. Haven't given this idea much thought so feel free to pick holes in it.
This is such a contorted argument - not from you @Lirsy but in the proposal - they just ought to drop it. If they want to promote a foot pilgrimage along the path that king Alfonso II (maybe, perhaps) rode on his horse together with his royal personnel in 800-and-something, then be all means make it the King Alfonso II camino that deserves a Compostela but don't superimpose it on other tracks when they have nothing in common except the distance of 300 km. It just makes no sense. Secondly, in the proposal they defend the idea that the pilgrimage to Saint James was never a local Galician affair because the Galician people had supposedly other saints for their pilgrimages and it was instead an international affair right from the start. And after having presented this argument, they propose a distance that is restricted to Spain - not very international!300 km looks like a reasonable distance:
- The same distance as the Primitive Way, which gives a certain historical support.
I'd actually be curious to know and, like you, I, too, think that the majority of the people who start in Sarria are Spanish.
Exactly! Does it matter how you get to Lourdes or Fatima? Isn't the spiritual benefit the same regardless? The sad truth is that some people are physically unable to complete the journey on foot (or bike/horse.) Is the Compostela recognition of the journey or the arrival? If it's to recognize the journey, then it should be restricted to those who made the journey. Does that mean that someone who walked part of the Camino and made it to Santiago without fulfilling the requirements has any less spiritual benefit? No! It's just a piece of paper. Don't let it define your spiritualityIn the end, always remember that the Compostela is just a certificate. The fundamental thing is the pilgrimage itself, and for the pilgrimage you are the only one who knows what you did, how you did it and why you did it.
I agree, and I didn't mind getting the sellos, not do I have an issue with spending money on coffee to get a sello and use the bathroom, and I enjoy looking at them and bringing back memories.I have always suspected that the 100 km requirement is just a (very clever and successful) way to promote tourism in Galicia. And even if this not the case, the commerce chambers and municipal councils of some cities (Sarria, notably) will lobby hard against any modification.
Some time ago, it was a strong move to modify the requirements for the Compostela from 100 km to 300 km. It seemed that most organizations related to the Camino agreed with that modification.
Does anyone know if this idea is still alive?
I really love the idea. It seems to me that this will solve (or at least reduce) the problem of overcrowding in the Sarria - Santiago sector.
It takes only a few minutes to visit the crypt, so I'm not sure how this suggested requirement would do anything other than add ink costs for the cathedral.One could eliminate Pilgrim Office queues using this notion, as only folks who actually visited the crypt where Santiago's relics are would receive a sello on exiting in their credencial... To get the Compostela, you would have to prove that you actually did visit the Cathedral and the relics.
...
However, one COULD tighten the eligibility requirements further by requiring the stamp from the crypt FIRST, before you could get in line at the Pilgrim Office to receive a Compostela.
No crypt stamp / sello, all you could obtain was a welcome certificate, not the Latin Compostela....
Hmmm, I might make this suggestion when I return in two weeks for a month's volunteer duty... But, I need to think on it some more...
It takes only a few minutes to visit the crypt, so I'm not sure how this suggested requirement would do anything other than add ink costs for the cathedral.
No, I think it was suggested that it is a good idea to avoid generalized comments about any group of people or their actions. You are making statements and posting selective information on topics that are very complex, for which there is no easy single solution. These topics get close to political and socio-economic issues and invite comparisons between countries, social conditions, the ethics of world travel, and the overall "fairness" of life. These discussions on the internet will always degenerate badly, and we prefer not to have that happen on this forum.Hate to muck up the thread with links but I was told I was being too general
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