Transcript Basic Ecclesial Communities

Basic Ecclesial Communities
An Expression of a Renewed Church
in the Philippines
Rev. Amado L. Picardal, CSsR, STD


The PCP II Vision of a Renewed Church and
the Ecclesiology of Basic Ecclesial Communities
Historical and Phenomenological Perspectives
of the Basic Ecclesial Communities in the
Philippines
The PCP II Vision of a
Renewed Church
The Basic Ecclesial Communities: An
Ecclesiological Perspective
The Second Plenary Council of the
Philippines (PCP II)



A gathering of over 450 Church leaders
(bishops, priests, religious & lay people) held in
January to February 1991
Held 26 years after Vatican II and 5 years after
EDSA uprising
To reflect on the identity and mission of the
Church in the context of new realities
PCP II Document
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Lights & Shadows: The Philippine Situation
A Vision of a Church Renewed
Renewed Integral Evangelization
Workers of Renewal
PCP II Vision of a Renewed
Church
Community of Disciples
living in communion
participating in the mission of Christ
as a prophetic, priestly & kingly people
and as a Church of the Poor
Sources of PCP II Vision of a
Renewed Church



Vatican II Vision of the Church as Communion
and as People of God – a priestly, prophetic and
kingly people
MSPC (Mindanao-Sulu Pastoral Conference)
Vision of the Church as a witnessing,
worshipping and serving community
The FABC (Federation of Asian Bishops’
Conference) vision of the Church as Church of
the Poor.


PCP II brings together under the heading of
Community of disciples the various models of
the Church: communion, herald (prophetic),
sacramental (priestly), servant (kingly), & church
of the poor.
It further links its realization in the Basic
Ecclesial Communities
BECs as Expression of the PCP II
Vision of a Renewed Church
“Our vision of the Church as communion,
participation and mission, about the Church as
priestly, prophetic, & kingly people, and as a
Church of the Poor- a church that is renewed is today finding expression in one ecclesial
movement. This is the movement to foster Basic
Ecclesial Communities.” par 137
PCP II Vision of BECs:
Community of Disciples
Prophetic
(witnessing)
Priestly
Kingly
(worshipping)(servant)
BECs as Way of Being Church



Thus, when we speak about a new way of being
Church we refer to the PCP II vision of renewed
Church which finds expression in the BECs.
What can be said about the Church in general
can be said about BECs. The BECs are the
microcosm of the Church – it is a new way of
being Church.
The BECs are the most local expression of the
Church: the church at the grassroots, the church
in the neighborhood, the church in the barangay.
BECs a Way of Being Church




Through the BECs, the Church is truly
experienced as a community of disciples.
The lay faithful experience communion.
The lay faithful live out their vocation as
people of God that participates in Christ’s
prophetic, priestly and kingly mission
The church becomes truly the Church of
the Poor
The Church as Communion


The image of Church as communion
emphasizes the communitarian and
interpersonal dimension of the Church.
Ecclesial communion can be lived out in
various levels:
Universal (communion of local Churches)
 Local (communion of dioceses/parishes)
 Parish (communion of BECs)

BECs as Expression of
Communion



According to John Paul II, the BECs can be “true
expression of communion and a means towards
construction of a more profound communion.”
In the BECs the members have a strong sense of
belonging & responsibility for one another.
The members experience the bond of unity which
is based on shared faith, celebrated in the breaking
of the bread, concretely expressed in the sharing
of material goods.
Living in Communion as
BECs



A new way of being Church means looking at
the parish as network of BECs – a communion
of communions.
The members of BECs experience communion
among themselves, while each BEC is linked to
other BECS.
Although ministered by lay leaders, the BECs
maintain a bond of communion with their
pastors – the parish priests & the bishop.
Church as People of God:
Prophetic, Priestly & Kingly



Vatican II & PCP II views the Church as a people
of God that is prophetic, priestly & kingly by
nature and mission.
This image of the Church asserts that all the
baptized share in the life and mission of the
Church.
Thus, the laity have the right and responsibility to
actively participate in the prophetic, priestly and
kingly mission of the Church
Prophetic, Priestly, Kingly People




This provides us with a holistic view of the Church.
It negates the exclusively liturgical/ sacramental
image of the Church.
The Church is not only a worshipping community, it
is also a prophetic and servant community.
This image of the Church can be experienced by
ordinary lay people at the BECs since these are
prophetic, priestly and servant communities.
The Church as Prophetic People




It has the mission of proclaiming the Good news –
a mission of evangelization & catechesis.
It is also called to be the conscience of society –
this is the mission of denouncing evil and all its
manifestation: injustice, oppression, violence, the
culture of death.
It witnesses to the word & calls people to
conversion.
The prophetic mission of the church can be
exercised in the universal and local level by the
hierarchy and the laity,
BECs as Prophetic Communities




It is in and through BECs that lay people can
participate in the prophetic mission of the
Church.
The BECs come together to listen to the Word, to
proclaim and give witness to it.
They are evangelized and evangelizing
communities, they are witnessing communities.
BECs have the task of evangelizing & catechizing
families, neighborhood communities and
barangays.
BECs as Prophetic Communities
BECs carry out their prophetic & evangelizing
mission whenever they come together in their
homes and chapels for their bible-service to reflect
on the word of God and their concrete situation.



The BECs also exercise the prophetic role by
denouncing evil in all its manifestation: the
culture of death, the violation of human rights,
injustice, exploitation, oppression, etc.
The BECs call everyone to conversion
The BECs announce a message of salvation &
liberation, of justice and peace.
The Church as Priestly People



The Church is a worshipping and celebrating
community.
The priesthood of the faithful is expressed in
the full and active participation in the liturgical
and sacramental celebration.
The lay-faithful can exercise their priestly
mission not only in the parish level but also in
BECs.
BECs as Priestly Communities



They gather weekly in their chapel to celebrate the
Liturgy of the Word presided by lay leaders.
Their monthly or bi-monthly celebration of the
Eucharist with the parish priest is festive and well
participated.
They have communal liturgies or rituals for various
occasions (birthdays, planting & harvesting,
sickness, wakes & funerals)
Priestly/Worshipping
Communities
Bible-Service/
Liturgy of the Word
BEC Mass
The Kingly/Servant People




The Church as a Kingly People is called to be a
Servant Church.
The mission of the church is not purely spiritual.
The Church is called to be attentive to the situation
of poverty, injustice, armed conflict, human rights
violation, ecological degradation,
PCP II calls for a renewed social apostolate and for
the Church to actively participate in the work for
justice, peace, development & integrity of creation.
The church is to be involved in social
transformation.
BECs as Serving Communities


It is in & through the BECs that lay people can
actively participate in the process of social
transformation.
In response to the problem of poverty, they can
set up socio-economic projects (IGP, livelihood,
cooperatives, sustainable agriculture, etc.)
Cooperative
BECs as Serving Communities
In response to the armed conflict, they can establish
peace zones and be part of the peace movement that
pressures the government and revolutionary forces to
pursue the peace process.
BECs as Serving Communities



To ensure clean and honest elections, the BECs
can be mobilized to help the PPCRV or
NAMFREL.
They can help in defending the environment
They can be mobilized to participate in
nationwide prayer rallies and vigils for various
causes taken up by the CBCP or the diocese
The Church of the Poor




The most popular image of the Church in PCP II –
the Church of the poor
This requires that the leaders and members of the
Church embrace evangelical poverty, live a simple
life-style and share their resources with the poor.
Those who are not poor are called to make an
option for the poor, to be in solidarity with the
poor and to defend their rights.
The poor members are empowered & called to
actively participate in the life & mission of the
Church.
BECs as expression of the
Church of the Poor



The BECs enable the poor to embrace evangelical
poverty and to actively participate in the Church’s
prophetic, priestly and pastoral mission
The poor are not only evangelized, they also
become evangelizers
The poor are not just passive recipients of aid,
they are active participants in the process of social
transformation. The poor are empowered to
struggle for peace, justice, development, liberation
and the integrity of creation
BECs in the Philippines
Historical & Phenomenological
Perspective
Emergence of BECs



The BECs (BCCs) first emerged
in Mindanao, Southern
Philippines in the late 60s, a few
years after Vatican II
The formation of BECs was part
of post-conciliar renewal carried
out by foreign missionaries and
local clergy.
The Mindanao-Sulu Pastoral
Conference (MSPC) promoted
the formation of BECs since the
early 1970s
Growth of BECs under Martial Law



Many BECs in Mindanao,
Visayas & Luzon were formed
during the Martial Law period.
The unhampered growth of
BECs from the early 70s to the
late 70s. There were various
groups & institutions promoting
BECs: MSPC, KrisKa, RMT,
BCC-CO, etc.
Many BECs that emerged
became prophetic & acted as
centers of resistance to the
Marcos regime.




Awareness/conscientization seminars were given
that awakened the members of the BECs to the
reality of the situation.
The liturgies that were celebrated during Advent,
Christmas, Lent and Holy Week were correlated
with the situation of poverty, injustice, oppression
and violation of human rights.
The drama workshops also highlighted the
situation under a repressive dictatorial regime.
The ongoing bible-reflection and bible-service
also referred to the current situation


The bible-reflection sessions and the liturgies
became spaces where people could break the
culture of silence and fear and encouraged them
to participate in the struggle against the dictatorial
regime.
There were BECs that became involved in
militant activities – such as protest marches and
rallies against various issues (military abuses,
human rights violations, U.S. bases, dam project,
land reform, etc.).
Suspicion and Repression of BECs


All these led to the suspicion that the BECs were
being used by groups struggling against the
Marcos regime.
In a master’s thesis on “Contemporary Religious
Radicalism in the Philippines” which he
submitted to the National Defence College in the
1979, Colonel Galileo Kintanar wrote that the
religious radicals were building up the BECs as
“an infrastructure of political power” that could
pose as a threat to national security.




The identification of the BECs with the Left gave the
military a pretext to harass the BECs.
Many of the development projects such as
cooperatives, communal farms & community based
health projects were suppressed on the suspicion that
these were being used to support the revolutionary
movement.
There were chapels that were closed and the people
were forbidden to gather for prayer and bible-service.
Leaders and members of BECs were arrested and
some were killed. Those who died were regarded as
BEC martyrs.



The military harassment and the loss of support
from some bishops and priests led to the
weakening of many BECs.
Many of those that continued focused on
liturgical activities and abandoned the
developmental and militant activities to play safe.
Yet there were still BECs that continued to
exercise their prophetic mission.
Development of BECs after EDSA






After the collapse of the Marcos dictatorial regime, BECs
continued to develop
Many remained liturgical-evangelical oriented
Some BEC programs identified with the left folded up
due to the split within the revolutionary movement and
the drying up of funds (BCC-CO)
But there were BECs that engaged in environmental
issues (anti-logging, anti-dam, anti-mining)
Others got involved in peace-building, setting up the
“Peace Zones.”
Other BECs emphasized economic development &
poverty alleviation programs




New impetus in building BECs after PCP II –
diocesan approach
Building BECs as part of PCP II reception &
implementation (renewing the church)
The BECs are now established in over 55 dioceses
in the Philippines. BEC National Assembly in
November 2002
The CBCP has recently established a national
BEC desk headed by Archbishop Quevedo that
will help in promoting the formation of BECs all
over country
II. DESCRIBING BECs
BECs as generic term for small faithcommunities emerging at the grassroots
(BCCs, SCCs, GKKs, GSK, MSKs, KrisKa,
Damayan & other local names)
Communities
They are communities, not organizations,
prayer groups, societies or associations.
They are not specialized groups but stable
environment. The members often live in
close proximity and interact with each other
regularly.
Basic Communities
They are basic communities, because of
their size, the quality of relationship
among the members and their social
location (base, grassroots)
Ecclesial
They are referred to as ecclesial because they
are considered as a way of being Church.
They are the church at the microcosm, the
church at the grassroots – in the
neighborhood & the village.
Description: PCP II
They are small communities of Christian, usually of
families who gather around the Word of God & the
Eucharist.
These communities are united to their pastors but are
ministered to regularly by lay leaders. The members know
each other by name & share not only the Word of God &
the Eucharist but also their concerns both material &
spiritual
They have a strong sense of belongingness & responsibility
for one another (par 138)
Usually emerging from the grassroots among poor farmers &
workers,
BECs consciously strive to integrate their faith & their daily
life.
They are guided & encouraged by regular catechesis.
Poverty & their faith urge their members towards
solidarity with one another,
action for justice
& towards a vibrant celebration of life in the liturgy.
(par 139)
Various Configurations of BECs




Chapel-based local communities (rural areas,
villages, barrios). 40-200 members. They gather in
their chapel.
Neighborhood cells/family groupings (urban
areas). 10-20 members, gather in their homes
Combination: chapel-based local communities with
neighborhood cells (rural & urban areas).
Intentional communities (urban areas). 10-15
members who do not live in close proximity. They
gather in their homes, workplace, or institutions.
Kinds of BECs


Evangelical/Liturgical BECs. The activities are
limited to bible-sharing/faith-sharing, Celebration
of the Word (bible-servic), sacramental & liturgical
celebrations (esp. Eucharist). Lacking in social
concern. Newly-developed or undeveloped BECs.
Holistic/Transformative BECs. BECs with social
action component integrated with its
evangelizing/worshipping activities. These are the
fully developed BECs that work for progress, peace,
justice & social transformation. (IGP, livelihood
programs, peace zones, etc)
The Early Shape of the BEC
Core Group/
Nucleus
Later Development of BEC
Cell
Cell
Cell
Core Group
Cell
Cell
Structure of Developed BEC
Council of Leaders
Worship
Education
Cell
Cell
Service Temporalities Youth
Cell
Cell
Cell
Parish Organizational Structure
PP
Parish Office
Staff
Parish Pastoral
Workers
Parish Pastoral Council
Service
Worship Education
Social Action
BEC Zone
Temporalities
(Finance)
BEC Zone BEC Zone
BEC Zone
Youth
BEC Zone
Summing up



BECs have sprouted all over the country
There is parallel but uneven development of BECs
– in some places they are already established & are
part of the structure of the local church, while
others are just starting. There are still many places
where there are no BECs yet.
The formation of BECs is part of the ongoing
efforts to renew the Church since Vatican II. It is a
new way of being Church.
The BECs are signs
of vitality in the
Church …
a cause of great
hope for the Church,
and a solid starting
point for a new
society based on a
civilization of love.
John Paul II
Redemptoris Missio