[Gocamino] COMPOSTELA and Credential; new rules

[Rebekah Scott]

hear, hear Rosina. I'm with you on this one. Even
though I know how much effort went into designing a
new American Pilgrims credential, and I've personally
stamped credentials ranging from diary pages to
hand-illuminated parchment, to a lineup of sellos on
the back of a page torn off an old calendar. 

Pilgrims "back in the day" didn't have Official Church
Credentials, and I think the pilgrim office effort to
curb tourist abuses is doomed to fail -- those tour
operators are incredibly clever and enterprising! 

Still, I agree the "real" Compostela is a
church-generated document, and as such the church is
well within its rights to determine who should get
one, however it sees fit. It's up to others to find a
way to offer a "congratulations you finished" document
for secular pilgrims that carries the same kind of
weight.  

Rebekah

Rebekah Scott, 
erstwhile print journalist 
full-time wanderer