Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Santiago (Agenzia Fides) - With the slogan "For life, all voices, all hands... ", the Catholic Bishops' office for pastoral care of alcoholism and drug abuse PANAD has called on Catholics all over the country to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on 26 June with initiatives to promote respect for life to fight and prevent drug trafficking and drug abuse. Initiatives to create awareness undertaken by PANAD and Bishop Enrique Alvear Hospital for sufferers from alcoholism and drug abuse include a special Mass on 24 June at the national shrine of Maipú, during which testimonies of rehabilitation experiences will be presented.
The drug prevent team Proppad of the southern part of the archdiocese of Santiago, with other institutions such as the Don Bosco Foundation, is organising initiatives to mark this day: Saturday 23 June parishes will encourage young people to organise recreational activities and mural painting on the theme; Sunday 24 special prayers will be said at every Mass and candles will be blessed to light on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking; Tuesday 26 June at 8pm every the bells of every church and chapel will ring to announce a special Prayer Vigil.
The Catholic Bishops' office for pastoral care of alcoholism and drug abuse PANAD was opened 20 years ago to show that drug abuse as an individual state is determined by the social and spiritual context. It appeals to public and private institutions to give attention to the roots and the consequences of drug abuse and to fight the phenomenon. In September 2006 on the occasion of the bi-centenary of Chile's independence, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference said "the plague of drug abuse strikes many individuals, families and districts of Chile today", this is a situation which challenges the Church "to find effective responses in which the person is always the point of reference and end " (see Fides 26/9/2006).
PANAD on June 26 will unite with thousands of people in the Church and in society determined to prevent, treat, rehabilitate and reduce the damage in Chile and all over the world.. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 22/6/2007; righe 31, parole 415)
