AMERICA/CHILE - “Drug addiction challenges our pastoral charity”: Bishops’ Message on scourge of drug abuse and urgent need to find solutions

Tuesday, 26 September 2006

Santiago de Chile (Agenzia Fides) - “The problem of drug addiction calls for attention from society and from the Church and demands pastoral charity” the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Chile Bishop Alejandro Goic Karmelic of Rancagua said in a message to participants at the “4th Meeting for experts on Drug Addiction and Social Inclusion”. In the message titled "Towards a Bi-centenary Free of the Scourge of Drugs " the bishops recall the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence and they say "the problem of drugs affects many individuals, families and whole city districts of Chile today”. They say this situation challenges the Church “to idenitfy more effective remedies, keeping in mind the good of the individual”. It is necessary to view the matter with greater humanity. These people need solutions centred on their conditions of social exclusion, poor quality of life, lack of opportunities for improvement. The Bishops say the "state and private investment is needed to increase resources assigned to areas of greatest poverty, to improve the quality of education, build channels of real participation in communities and provide our brothers and sisters with dignified and quality homes”.
The Bishops say in recent years "the problem of drug abuse is spreading among homeless women and children living on the streets", and is killing many young Chileans. "The Church has an important role to play as a bridge between those who suffer from exclusion and the rest of the population" the message says recalling that the local Church has developed diverse initiatives in this sense, mainly for prevention and rehabilitation. "It is a matter of putting ourselves at the service of our people, promoting their rights and basic needs, from childhood to old age" and supporting "every initiative to promote and strengthen families as the first place for education of children". It is also necessary "to ask ourselves why so many people, young people especially, have recourse to alcohol and drugs.” Special attention must be given to poor children in whom “this tragedy is almost a cry of pain and call for help".
Bishop Alejandro concludes by saying “the tragedy of drug abuse is major challenge which must be tackled immediately” and that he hopes bi-centenary celebrations in October will increase awareness of the scourge of drug abuse and help “put an end to the inequality from which so many of our brothers and sisters suffer”. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 26/9/2006; righe 32, parole 450)


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