(This marks the ninth in a series of ten Vincentian family projects that will be described by Fr. Robert Maloney, Chair of the Systemic Change initiative in the Vincentian Family.)
Basic Ecclesial Communities in Occidental Mindoro
Life for the poor of San Jose in Occidental Mindoro, Philippines, is filled with challenges… The people were disunited and unable to raise a common voice to speak up for themselves. San Jose floundered until the Daughters of Charity helped the people create Basic Ecclesial Communities (BCEs) in which they addressed their needs in a systemic way and developed into a united community.
Life for the poor of San Jose in Occidental Mindoro, Philippines, is filled with challenges. Much of their poverty stems from the fact that most are only tenant farmers; less than 1% of the people own the land they work. Many are uneducated and fall prey to usurers and corrupt politicians. Access to healthcare is difficult. In addition, the shortage of priests in the area resulted in an ailing parish community, where the people were disunited and unable to raise a common voice to speak up for themselves. San Jose floundered until the Daughters of Charity helped the people create Basic Ecclesial Communities (BCEs) in which they addressed their needs in a systemic way and developed into a united community.
At its root, a BCE is a pastoral ministry program. It builds up a local community, first through education in faith and prayer, and then through ecclesial and social programs, in which the community forms leaders and creates organized structures. Once unified and mobilized, the community is capable of reacting against political and social injustices and addressing its problems systematically.
The building of the BCE proceeded through a series of phases. It began with listening: the Daughters of Charity listened to the concerns of the people of San Jose and met with their local parish priest to work with him and his assistants to create the BCE. Then, through meetings, formation sessions and dialogue, the community started to govern itself, and its president and leadership team set out to resolve conflicts or to plan activities.
As the leadership group grew in experience, it identified and prioritized the community’s religious, social, political, economic, cultural and ecological needs, and took steps toward addressing them. For example, to address the community’s faith needs, lay ministers received special training to act as leaders in the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word when no priest was available. To address the needs of the farmers, an agricultural program was organized that provided them with information about current farming trends and helped them acquire skills, expertise and technology that would previously have been beyond their reach. It also encouraged them to explore new, alternative ways of farming. Finally, to address the needs of the uneducated, the BCE searched for and found ways of obtaining good religious and secular education.
While initially dependant upon external funding, the BEC in San Jose grew toward economic self-reliance. Soon it formed cooperatives to engage in advocacy work, dialoguing with governmental and non-governmental agencies about unjust situations.
Having obtained a political voice, a strong community life, better farming skills, and basic education, the BEC of San Jose of Occidental Mindoro, with the help of the Daughters of Charity, had undergone holistic, self-sustaining, lasting systemic change.
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