B.E.C… “A New Way of Being Church”

B.E.C… “A New Way of Being Church”

By Msgr. Elmer S. Abacahin, SSJV

In 1991, the Church in the Philippines held its Second Plenary Council (PCP II) in order to evaluate the national pastoral situation and set directions for a renewed integral evangelization. PCP II realized that “a new evangelization” had to take place in view of the “lights and shadows” of the cultural, religious, political and economic situation of

the country. It recognized that the Church has been a potent but “flawed” instrument

of evangelization. The Church in the Philippines has to be a more credible and more

effective bearer and proclaimer of the Lord’s gospel. Therefore, toward the integral renewal of the Church, PCP II drew up a formidable vision of a renewed Church. The Church in the Philippines has to be truly a community of authentic disciples of the Lord,

prayerful, participatory and committed to social transformation in the light of faith,

inculturated and a Church of the Poor. This vision directly addressed the problems

within the Church as well as its relationship to Philippine society.

From 1992 to 1997, a flurry of renewing activities took place in all dioceses of the

Philippines. Moved by the vision of the Church drawn up by PCP II and encouraged

by the pastoral thrust of the local churches in Mindanao, more dioceses in Luzon and in the Visayas opted to build Basic Ecclesial Communities as “new way of being church”.

But many observers perceived a decline of interest five years after PCP II. The work of renewal was found quite exhausting. The challenge of renewing parish structures and pastoral methods was very difficult. There was no single approach to renewal that could easily be followed step by step. Most of all the implications of renewal with regard to lifestyles and pastoral mentalities—the personal dimensions of renewal—were too demanding.

Therefore, many efforts of renewal began to dissipate and fade. For this reason

the 10th Anniversary of PCP II in 2001 became an opportune moment for the

church in the Philippines to review the 10-year period after PCP II. Hence, the Catholic

Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) decided to hold the National Pastoral

Consultation on Church Renewal (NPCCR). NPCCR took a deep look at the renewal

done in many dioceses by way of BEC building. PCP II had described the Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) as a “reflection of a renewed and renewing church”. The dioceses that started and persevered in building BEC’s were very much advanced in the efforts of integral renewal toward integral evangelization, including social transformation. In these

dioceses, the BEC at the grassroots was, indeed, an effective and credible expression

of a “new way of being church” in accord with the vision of PCP II.

Guided by the vision of the Church that PCP II had articulated and drawing lessons from the 10-year experience of renewal, NPCCR drew up nine major pastoral priorities for the Church in the Philippines. NPCCR strongly revived the movement of renewal. It stirred up the impulse of becoming a “new way of being church” by way of BEC. However, it soon became evident during and after NPCCR that a more systematic and coordinated effort to build BEC was required. There had been some BEC assemblies, but these had been called by CBCP-NASSA, whose interest was on the dimension of the BEC as an

agent of social transformation. NASSA 2006 annual report says: The year 2006 features concrete strings of achievements for the BEC based Integral Evangelization Program. “After five years of implementation a total of 30 arch/dioceses, prelatures and vicariates serving 70,731 families in 1,135 Basic Ecclesial Communities and 150 parishes have benefited from the program by batches. In an attempt to draw definition of a BEC,

NASSA organized the National Consultation of BEC Promoters on the Social Concerns

of BEC’s in the Philippines in June 1996" (cf. NASSA 2006 Report).

Much more was needed. An assembly had to be called to reflect on the integral life (social, political, cultural, religious) of the BEC and plan on the building of BEC’s themselves. This in fact was the conclusion of the national consultation on Basic Ecclesial Communities in 2003. More than 100 delegates from different dioceses in the Philippines attended the national consultation. They made two major recommendations

to facilitate the building of Basic Ecclesial Communities in the different dioceses: That the CBCP set up a national office to serve as a resource and coordinating center for the building of BEC’s; That a BEC national assembly be held periodically to exchange experiences in BEC building, identify strengths and weaknesses, evaluate efforts at BEC building, share resources and plan for the future.

Subsequently, the CBCP approved the first recommendations. It also approved the appointment of Bishops for the Board of the BEC National Office. The newly established Board in turn approved the recommendation to hold the First BEC National Assembly under the auspices of the CBCP-BEC National Office, in September 2005.