Church assesses growth of BECs

MANILA, Sept. 12, 2011—Fifty years after the Second Vatican Council, Church leaders are looking back on how the growth of basic ecclesial communities in Asia have been faithful to the vision that brought them to their very existence.

BEC practitioners from India, Sri Lanka, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and the Philippines gathered at the One World Community Service Center in Taipei from September 2 to 5 for the Asian Continental BEC Meeting to report on the state and development of BECs in their
respective countries.

Fr. Amado Picardal of the Episcopal Commission on Basic Ecclesial Communities of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines reported on the state of the BECs in the Philippines.

“Each (of us) gave a report on the state of the BECs in (our) country and how the BECs have realized the vision of a renewed Church of Vatican II and the challenges that (we) face at present,” Picardal said.

“I am just amazed about the growth of BECs not just in the Philippines but also other countries in Asia. This is a sign of hope of the vitality of the Church in this region,” the priest added.

According to Picardal, the conference, themed "BECs in Asia 50 years after Vatican II," was held in preparation for the anniversary of the Second Vatican Council next year, when a separate conference for BEC practitioners all over the world will be held in Germany.

“This meeting was [a] preparation the intercontinental gathering on BECs which will be held in Tubingen, Germany next year. The Latin American BEC continental conference has already been held. The other continental conferences in Africa and North America will also be held
soon,” he said.

The continental conferences and that which is slated in Germany next year are meant to identify the challenges to the BECs in Asia and throughout the world “in the light of the recent social, economic, and cultural developments, especially globalization and post or late modernity.” (CBCPNews)