A Catholic bishop is urging Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) to take a stronger role in confronting poverty, corruption and worsening climate disasters.
Bishop Jose Rapadas of Iligan, chair of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Basic Ecclesial Communities, said BECs should become “communities of solidarity” that “walks with the wounded and refuses to be indifferent.”
He said villages and urban neighborhoods with active BECs already show how faith can be translated into action through mutual care and collective concern, but he stressed the need to deepen that mission.
He cited persistent poverty, corruption, migration and environmental destruction as major wounds affecting Filipino families, made worse by increasingly severe climate-related disasters across the country.
“Our BECs are invited to be basic human, ecological, and civic communities that embody synodality and offer real hope to our wounded world,” Rapadas said.
He also warned against what he called a “globalization of indifference,” saying people risk becoming numb to repeated suffering, injustice and climate-related devastation.
Rapadas issued the message in his pastoral message for BEC Sunday 2026, observed in the Philippines every Trinity Sunday.
He said the doctrine of the Trinity reflects a model of communion the Church must mirror through synodality, describing it as walking together in shared mission and discernment.
Early Christian communities described in the Acts of the Apostles remain a model, he added, marked by prayer, sharing and mutual support in daily life.
Rapadas said BECs today can serve as “basic human communities” where neighbors support one another in times of crisis, disaster and everyday hardship.
He also called for BECs to function as “basic ecological communities,” inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, promoting environmental protection, disaster preparedness and reduced waste.
He added that BECs can become “basic civic communities” by encouraging responsible citizenship, open dialogue on social issues and resistance to corruption and disinformation.
