A Basic Ecclesial Community meeting held at a Catholic family's home in Seoul. (Photo by The Catholic Times of Korea)
A lay movement first established by Seoul Archdiocese 25 years ago has helped Catholics strengthen their faith, says the results of a survey.
The Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) has proved to be effective in promoting Mass participation and Bible reading, according to the survey released by the pastoral department of Seoul Archdiocese on Aug. 17.
"Results from the survey shows that BEC is meaningful in evangelizing the faithful and revitalizing parish communities," said Father Augustine Jo Sung-poong, the pastoral director of the archdiocese.
"In a gloomy situation where overall Mass participation rates are dropping, it's is an encouraging fact that the BEC participants are going to Mass more frequently," he said.
Conducted Oct. 15 – Nov.13 last year, the survey interviewed 8,764 Catholics from all age groups in nine parishes. Among the respondents, 36.1 percent said they join BEC meetings.
The pastoral department compared the evangelization levels between BEC participants and non-participants. According to results, BEC participants are more active in almost all criterias including gospel proclamation, liturgy participation, communion with other Catholics and service to neighbors.
The survey also found that BEC participants go to Mass more frequently and spend more time in reading the Bible than those who do not join the movement.
The survey was conducted to review how the BEC has contributed to the evangelization of local Catholics.
Seoul Archdiocese introduced the BEC in 1992.