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WHAT DOES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SAY ABOUT DRUGS?

Drugs and drug addiction are phenomena that are invading all societies in the world today
and the Catholic Church continues to both proclaim a system of values that condemns drug
addiction as an evil and at the same time continues to pastorally care for those afflicted by
addiction. In recent years Pope John Paul II has made over eighty statements about the
worrisome problem of drugs:
Among the threats facing youth and our entire society today, drugs take the first place as an
invisible and insidious danger, that is not yet adequately evaluated according to the amplitude
of its seriousness. (page 14, n2).
The Church teaches that parents, social workers, priests, religious and laity are witnesses and
the first protagonists in trying to understand, intervene and propose to individuals an
alternative to drug dependency. The family is noted as one of the first places for this to
happen, however, it cannot do so in isolation from the parish, the community or the work of
education. (taken from page 9, n10-11)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (n2291) clearly states that, except on strictly
therapeutic grounds, the use of drugs is a grave offence. The consumption of drugs is
nothing but a false answer to a lack of a positive sense of life, and is an evil that impacts upon
a persons freedom and use of reason. This is why the Church cannot support permissive
legislation or ever condone the legalisation of drugs. The answer to drug addiction is not
through the liberalisation of laws, but through a recovery of values that could be described as
a therapy of love.
Catholic teaching on the human person declares that humans are made in the image and
likeness of God, and therefore demand a dignity that is beyond all creatures. The abuse of
drugs contributes to the destruction of the integrity of the human person and therefore is an
affront to God. John Paul II says that drugs tend to enslave the person, assail his dignity and
lead to a lack of freedom. (Quote from p81, n221).
Education is integral to developing resilience and well-being in people where a dependency
on drugs is not pursued. The Church teaches that education should be of the whole person,
and should be an education that proclaims the Gospel of grace as a gift of full life. There are
numerous suggestions made by the church for how such an education should unfold and they
include teaching young people that drugs seriously interfere with the fundamental issues of
life, to offer positive models of behaviour, to develop the interior ability of young people so
that they can cope with the stress of daily living, to support families in developing
understanding and dialogue with their children, and to develop the intelligence of students so
that they may better be able to discern critically through popular and fleeting opinions and
lifestyle choices. (p132-3 various)
The Church clearly advocates for preventative actions and an education that promotes the use
of reason, freedom, will and responsibility. Development of an interior life and Christian
virtues is a prime task for families that must be shared by parishes and schools. Catholic
Education, then, clearly plays a significant role in promoting an alternative lifestyle of
freedom and love lived in accord with the Gospel of Jesus.
Reference: Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, 2002, Church: drugs and drug
addiction, Pastoral Handbook, Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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