Pilgrim eller vandrer ?

Pilgrim eat pilgrim menu, walkers go to a restaurant. Debatten om hvem der er pilgrimme og hvem, der ikke er, fortsætter på de sociale medier.
En af de rigtig store pilgrimsfora er den engelsksprogede https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community , hvor - så vidt jeg kan se - også en del danske har meldt sig til.
Et emne, der er gået igen nogle gange på dette pilgrimsforum, og som i februar nok en gang blev aktuelt, er spørgsmålet: Hvem er "rigtige" pilgrimme. Denne gang indledt her i februar med en beretning fra en pilgrim, der kalder sig, Alberta, og som skriver om en oplevelse ved Jernkorset, hvor pilgrimme traditionelt set har lagt en medbragt sten, som symbol på, at livet nu var ved et vendepunkt, hvor man lagde de dårlige ting i livet bag sig og så frem mod et - for gud og mennesker - nyttigt liv. Her Albertas beretning under overskriften Pilgrim eller Vandrer/Are you pilgrim or walker?:
I was shocked to see several walkers (I will not call them pilgrims) deliberately mocking the Cruz de Ferro with consciously ridiculous poses, competing with one another to see who could have the most mocking photo taken. I stood on the opposite side of the Cruz de Ferro from them to leave my stones, tributes to a family who had lost their daughter to cancer and to my doctor, who supports a chronically sick sister in a country without public medicare. It rained. I cried, from shock and dismay. It was a very emotional moment.
I attended mass at Barbadelo, just out of Sarria, at the little 12th cent. church of Santiago. This was the only time on my camino when I received the sacrament; as a non-Roman Catholic Christian I was attempting to respect Catholic regulations. It was a very emotional experience in this wonderful church.
Debatten har været temmelig heftig ikke altid lige venlig. Her et an svarene:
Cruz de Ferro is a pile of stones summited by an iron cross.
Its original purpose probably was as a cairn to mark the path and the highest point on the camino.
The behavior pointed out in the OP post suggests sacrilege as if the site were somehow sacred. I'd be in favour of having the site turned into a national monument complete with strict laws forbidding the leaving of any item including stones. Because that is behavior that I find offensive.
Der er også nogen, der har prøvet at se på sagen fra den mere humoristiske side:
Pilgrim eat pilgrim menu, walkers go to a restaurant.
PT er der 129 indlæg, og redaktøren af hjemmesiden har lukket for flere indlæg for at undgå, at debatten yderligere kommer til at spidse til og ligne en amerikansk valgkamp.