Church prepares for BEC national assembly

MANILA, Philippines - The Church has started preparations for the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) national assembly that would be held in Cagayan de Oro from Nov. 10 to 14. A statement on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website Thursday said he theme of the assembly is "BEC and Rural Development." Four delegates will come from each diocese, including the bishop, diocesan BEC program/commission coordinator, a lay pastoral worker, and a BEC leader, according to Fr. Amado Picardal, one of the CBCP-BEC national consultants. Picardal said that bishops who compose the CBCP-BEC board met last July 4 to discuss the matter. Those in attendance included Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo (chairman), Archbishop Romulo Valles, Bishop Socrates Villegas, Msgr. Elmer Abacahin, Dr. Estela Padilla and Picardal. Other consultants included Msgr. Manny Gabriel and Msgr. Joemari Delgado. "We will also finalize the plans for the BEC national assembly," said Picardal. The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (1991) considers the BECs as the realization of the vision of a renewed Church.- GMANews.TV