in English
This morning in the Holy See Press Office, Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, presented the Pastoral Manual "Church...
VATICAN (VIS)
,..Drugs, and Drug Dependency." Various members of the same dicasteryparticipated in the presentation.
The manual, prepared by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministryand published in Italian, French, Spanish, and English, is the result ofextensive work begun four years ago. "In 1997," the archbishop said, "theHoly Father entrusted to this dicastery the task of considering thedistressing drug problem in the world. Since then we have organized aseries of studies, meetings, and international conferences, and we havecreated special working groups. ... Among our concerns was the creation ofa manual on pastoral health care in the specific area of drugs."
"The manual," the archbishop continued, "does not pretend to offer adefinitive response but to give suggestions which can assist in pastoralwork. We know that many methods exist, that there are many experiences ofpeople completely and heroically dedicated to this pastoral work. Werespect this plurality of approach ... for prevention and treatment in theworld of drugs. ... Here we do not intend to propose a new method, but togive a simple response, as a practical guide."
The text is addressed to bishops, priests, pastoral workers, parents withdrug dependent children and health care professionals. "Politicians," thepresident of the dicastery added, "have an important role to play in thisscourge, and its restraint depends greatly on their approach."
The five-chapter manual opens with the words of John Paul II. "The Pope,"affirmed Archbishop Barragan, "tells us of three specific actions for apastoral care program which confronts the drug problem: prevention,treatment, and repression." The text deals with the first two actions indepth. The Holy Father refers to the third affirming that "we must allfight against the production, creation, and distribution of drugs in theworld, and it is the particular duty of governments to courageouslyconfront this battle against 'death trafficking'."
"It cannot be said that there are countries who produce drugs on the oneside and those who consume them on the other," the prelate specified. Noone is immune from this ill-omened tidal wave, all countries produce andall consume, especially now that synthetic drugs exist. We are allinvolved, and the drug barons are stronger and destroy more in richcountries than in poor ones."
The first chapter of the manual looks at the teaching of John Paul II onthis subject, while the second chapter, entitled "Drug addiction is asymptom of dependency," provides practical information on different drugs.The third chapter, "Become free," proposes a reflection on the question offreedom and the discovery of the sense of pleasure and happiness. Thefourth chapter, "Education and prevention," is dedicated to the theme ofeducation and prevention as the fundamental means of fighting drugdependency, and the fifth chapter, "Pastoral attitudes at the service ofthe liberation of the individual," presents the delicate ministry of thespiritual guidance of drug addicts and their families.
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