The Church at the Grassroots

1. The Church: The Filipino Experience in the Light of Second Plenary

Council of the Philippines (PCP II)
Confronted with such calling and the urgency to make the Gospel message
relevant to the lives and circumstances of the Filipino people, the Catholic
Church in the Philippines held its Second Plenary Council in Manila from January
20 to February 17, 1991, attended by five hundred participantsordained and lay, and rich and poor sectors of the society.
1.1
Fourfold Dimensions of PCP II
While the Philippines has been so richly blessed with 450 years of
Christianity, we still find so much reason to persist in our labor in the
Lords vineyard in view of renewal and conversion.
o The Filipino culture as the context.
We observe the increasing gap between the rich and the poor, the culture
of corruption, the need for further formation, the sustenance of families
and communities in and by the Word of God and the need for more
vocations in celibate loving.
o The Spirit of the New Evangelization
Thus, we subscribe to Pope John Paul IIs call to New
Evangelization. In order to revitalize the faith, to give a new
dynamism to the building up of the Church, draw near to the
unity Christ desires for His disciples and respond to the
expectations of human person.
o

Christ as Focus

We carry such spirit and mission with Christ as the center, transforming
and leading our efforts towards Him. We then seek to enrich the strong
Filipino faith in their belief, worship and witness.
o

Pastoral Orientation

We constantly remain to be pastoral in our orientation: responsive to

the needs and situations of the people, especially the poor and the
marginalized in our society. Rightly, then, the Church fulfills its mission,
taking its inspiration from Jesus himself, to be a Church of the Poor.
2. The Church of the Poor
o frequented the company of those who sought him in their poverty
of spirit, the morally poor and those who were uninstructed in law
o showed his love for children and women considered a little in the
society of his time

o
o

He wanted His disciples to imitate. In the end, He tells us, our

eternal destiny depends on how we treat the least of His brethren.
the poverty and the great destitution of the great mass of our
people are only too evident, contrasting sharply with the wealth and
luxury of the few relatively few families, the elite top of our social
pyramid.
the power and control are also elitist, lopsidedly concentrated on
established families that tend to perpetuate themselves in political
dynasties.

Poverty is desired by God

On contrary, PCP II re-affirms Vatican IIs claim to proper to every
person which teaches that every man has the right to possess a
sufficient amount of the earths goods for himself and his family.

The Church of the Poor defined

What does it mean to be a Church of the Poor?
PCP II insights and objectives:
1. The church of the poor means a church that
embraces and practices the evangelical spirit
of poverty, which combines detachment from
with profound trust in the Lord as the sole
source of salvation.
2. It is on whose leaders and members have
special love for the poor.. which is not an
exclusive or excluding love in such a way that
there is no room in a Christians heart for
those who are not poor.
3. It is one where, at the very least the poor are
not discriminated against because of poverty.
4. It means that the pastors and other church
leaders will give preferential attention and
time to those who are poor and will
generously share their own resources in order
to alleviate their poverty and make them

recognize the love of the Lord for them despite

their poverty.
5. It is one that will be in solidarity with the poor..
and does all in her power to relieve their need
and in them she strives to serve Christ.
6. It also means that the church will not only
evangelize the poor, but that the poor in the
church will themselves become evangelizers.
7. Pastors and leaders will learn to be with, work
with and learn from the poor .
8. Pastors and leaders of such a Church of the
Poor will not compete for the most
prosperous parishes or offices and will not
ambition for titles and honors.
9. It is one where the entire community of
disciples especially the rich and better off
sectors of the community and its leaders and
pastors, will have such a love or preference for
the poor;
10.
It is one that is
willing to follow Jesus Christ through poverty
and oppression in order to carry out the work
of salvation.
PCP II must have been a life-changing experience for its
participants because so much attention, compassion, and
love were appropriated for the poor. It gave the Philippine
Church a renewed commitment to the least of Christs
brethren, and aim to implement its vision, its ideal for all
persons starting from the hierarchy down to the last
person of every Basic Ecclesial Community.