Father Tim:
Sorry, but as a cradle Catholic, I am compelled to address you in that form, now that you "outed" yourself.
But seriously, I cannot find fault in anything you say. It is all morally correct, and in concordance with Church dogma and teaching. I accept all of it, I always have, and always try to act in accordance with it. It is the interpretation and adaptation to real life situations that is sometimes problematic.
What I will offer though, is the observation that we in the Roman Catholic Church are the beneficiaries of a 'corporate' (albeit not-for-profit, per se) hierarchy that was been promulgating both divinely inspired dogma and formal corporate 'rules' for over two thousand years. Mostly, these rules were for the advancement and protection of the Faith, and were generally beneficial to the growth and spread of western civilization.
To be sure, like any huge multinational. and highly diverse organization, over the centuries and millennia we have had our share of scandal, impropriety, corruption, schism, and sometimes simply bone-headed rules. But, and as a general statement, the existence and influence of the Roman Catholic Church and the Papacy has probably been one of the major forces for development of western civilization and western democracies in the Judeo-Christian tradition. I believe this is not opinion, but well-established historical fact.
Without the Church as patron, the Renaissance would likely never have occurred, to pull Western Europe out of the Dark Ages. As an institution, the Church surely is not perfect. But it DID get us this far in societal development. along with moral authority and balance.
This all stipulated and established, the Pilgrim Office at Santiago is indeed an arm of the Cathedral and Archbishopric administration there. In fact, only a few decades ago, a pilgrim completing their pilgrimage would present themselves at the Sacristy, or the small office around the back, on the East wall, to the left of the Holy Door, near the Southeast corner. HAving a separate Pilgrim Office is a fairly recent phenomenon.
Today, that small office is still used for Cathedral administration, and to issue Compostelas on Christmas and New Year's Day. These are the only two days of the year that the Pilgrim Office is closed. One presents themselves at the Sacristy before or after Mass, and is led to that office, where some Compostela related supplies are held.
As the popularity of the Camino increased dramatically over the past 10 - 15 years, the number of routes, places to start, and the variety of individuals undertaking a pilgrimage also increased. The moral complexion of these pilgrims also changed over time, and not always for the better. Just saying... Human nature is diverse by its very nature... It takes all kinds...
Originally, pilgrims were predominantly doing a pilgrimage for religious reasons. These pilgrims were likely more observant and circumspect in their motives, conduct enroute, and compliance with any rules.
In later years, and continuing into the future, we are seeing an increasing percentage of secular pilgrims who are doing this for any number of other than religious reasons. The range of motivation arches from devout religious persons, of virtually any faith to persons doing a walk for sport, a holiday, to repair a bruised psyche, get away from relative, friends, or the law, whatever.
Personally, I have walked alongside Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Shintoists, and any number of Christians. It is remarkable really. I have also walked alongside people clearly trying to avoid notice somewhere by someone, as well as itinerant persons who essential live on the Camino, relying on the charity of others to exist. The diversity of pilgrims and the variety of reasons for walking are as varied as the human race. I believe that is one of the most beautiful aspects of the
Camino de Santiago.
Anyway, as the years went by, more and more pilgrims started walking the minimum distance to obtain a Compostela. Indeed and more recently, the number of Forum questions about where actual 100km mojone / distance markers are located has increased. Clearly this interest is from persons seeking to cut every last corner they can, while still remaining in technical compliance.
Some would say this points out the idiocy of having distance rules at all. I counter by saying that society must have rules to establish and maintain order. In this case, the very basic rules are needed to try to maintain some semblance of respect and honor for the arduous journeys of millions upon millions of pilgrims who came before us. For the accomplishment to mean anything to anyone, it must be worthy of the effort made.
If we were to follow the no rules logic, we should have the Compostela downloadable from the internet for self service generation at one's pleasure. Alternatively, how about paid self-service ATM-type Compostela printers on every corner in Santiago?
But seriously, ideas like this have come up, and regularly do arise. Clearly, technology exists to automate some or most of the current process. But, IMHO too much automation also discounts or may cheapen the solemnity and seriousness of the accomplishment. We, at the Pilgrim Office and in the Archbishopric are simply trying to maintain order, tradition and the solemnity of the base effort, which is to walk to Santiago de Compostela for the purpose of venerating the Apostle Saint James relics. That is what we, and the process are there for. We are not in the business of issuing participation certificates.
BTW, and in case you wondered, the OPTIONAL Certificate of Distance was only created and offered for a donation of €3 in 2014. This occurred because the Cathedral Administration informed Pilgrim Office management that they could not afford to pay the salaries of the necessary, increased Pilgrim Office staff. The Cathedral told the Pilgrim Office to find a way to generate funds for pay for salaries and operating expenses. This document or one similar to it had been requested over several years, especially by the loinger distance bicyclists.
So, Pilgrim Office management identified and met the need for the distance certificate, but only as a last resort. The entire Pilgrim Office operates on a non-profit basis and only raises enough funds to support its operations. As the Camino increases in popularity and more pilgrims arrive each year, it is necessary to add staff, equipment and facilities to address this need. Everyone is pulling together to get ready for the coming Holy Year in 2021.
But I digress...
Resuming the theme of cheating and rules... I have personally witnessed bus-load sized, highly organized group cheating on the final 10 km into Santiago, for a group that started all the way to the far distant west, in Sarria... I have seen groups meet at cafes near the Pilgrim Office to rehearse their stories as pre-stamped credencials are handed out to "pilgrims' in perfect make-up hair, and clean or new clothing. The variety of schemes is endless. If we see them, we challenge them.
When volunteering at the Pilgrim Office, one also sees half-hearted attempts by essentially lazy persons to claim their "participation trophy." That is not what 1,200 years of religious tradition and practice exists for.
We staff and volunteers do not actively search out Compostela cheats. But, when evidence of a fraud evidences itself during the process, we are compelled to act to enforce the Archbishop's very basic rules. I mentioned them above and will not repeat them here.
The Compostela has existed for about 900 years (IIRC). it was originally written on parchment or linen before paper was widely available. In practice, the hard copy Compostela served as proof that a pilgrim actually made it to Santiago.
A new scallop shell originally served that purpose until unscrupulous vendors began selling them all over, and not only at Santiago. That violation of the original rules for documenting a pilgrimage led to creating the Compostela, as we know it.
Back in the day, a solemn religious pilgrimage to the Apostle Saint's relics at Santiago was also used as an alternative to execution, some corporal punishment, or banishment for any number of crimes. The deal was, make this pilgrimage and return with proof, or never return. My point is that, until the last 10 years or so, pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela was very serious stuff indeed.
About 10 - 12 years ago IIRC, the Cathedral / Archbishop created and imposed minimum distance requirements to define an 'appropriate' distance to travel to be eligible for a Compostela. I was not there, and I do not have first-hand knowledge of this process, or the reasoning that went into it. I am told it was instituted to try to halt was was seen as abuse of the process for Compostela eligibility.
What resulted was a proclamation that a pilgrim on foot had to walk the final 100 km of any prescribed and accepted pilgrimage route into Santiago, and be able to document that activity on a prescribed document (the credencial). The distance for pilgrims using a bicycle was set at 200 km.
Know, we all know that no pilgrim shows up at the Pearly Gates clutching a paper Compostela. Even assuming arguendo, that our faith is correct and we will be seen and admitted by Saint Peter and the angels, one assumes that the Holy Omniscience knows who completed a proper pilgrimage and who cheated. I believe that is what we were taught in our Baltimore Catechisms... at least, that is how I internalized it.
This siad, flooding the market with unearned Compostelas is a gross waste of time and very finite resources. It also detracts from the honest efforts of all legitimate pilgrims.
In this context, I find little difference between this setting of reasonable rules for accomplishing a pilgrimage, and prescribing who can and cannot receive Holy Communion, how Holy Days of Obligation are observed in what counties and in what manner, what doors are used to enter and depart from the Cathedral, and so forth... rules exist for valid reasons. Some rules preserve dogma and teachings, some simply preserve the rule of law and order. Rules are not inherently bad. In fact, they give a framework to Western Civilization and modern societies.
Personally, I hold that the arguably very basic rules for Compostela eligibility, and the means used to try to maintain order and to retain some semblance of tradition, and maintaining the value for that effort is worthwhile. Enforcement is not undertaken blithely or lightly. Also, I believe that the means we use to verify valid claims, or to debunk fraudulent claims are reasonable and consistent with history.
In the past, one could merely present a credencial with chronological stamps. Now, technology permits us to use date, time, and location stamped digital photographs to establish claims where credencials have been lost, stolen or damaged, or where insufficient manual documentation is presented to support the Compostela claim.
When we enforce the rules regarding issuing Compostelas, we are doing no different IMHO than officials do at the cathedral proper to preserve the dignity and solemnity of the Holy Mass.
I hope this explains matters more clearly. And I further hope that if, we disagree, we can agree to disagree...politely.
Anyone who wants to discuss this over a vino tinto can find me at the Pilgrim Office from 6 - 20 May. I will even spot a round...
I hope this clarifies, and aids the dialog.
Oddly it seems to fix itself better in memory after I have finished and recall the journey as a whole. I remember some places, events and people quite vividly like a series of snapshots rather than a long documentary film.
