Pope says for God no addict is
“irredeemable”
Pope Francis on November 1 addressed participants in a 3-day
Vatican conference on drugs and addictions.
By Robin Gomes
Pope Francis on Saturday encouraged greater coordination of
anti-drugs and anti-addiction policies through networks of solidarity and
proximity to the victims affected by these pathologies, saying, “God discards
no one; for him no one is irredeemable!”
He was speaking to some 450 participants in the
international conference in the Vatican on the theme, "Drugs and
Addictions: an Obstacle to Integral Human Development". The Nov.
29 to Dec.1 meeting that examined issues such as addictions to drugs,
gambling, sex, pornography and trafficking, was sponsored by the Vatican’s
Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
Drugs – an open wound in society
The Pope noted that that the “worrying phenomenon of drugs
and old and new addictions” is derived from a “secularized cultural climate,
marked by consumer capitalism, self-sufficiency, loss of values, existential
emptiness, precariousness of ties and relationships.”
Drug addiction, he said, is an open wound in our society,
whose victims are ensnared into exchanging their freedom for slavery. He thus
called for combatting the production, processing and distribution of drugs
worldwide, and urged governments to courageously undertake the fight
against those who “deal in death”.
God discards no one
Young people and others, the Pope observed, are lured into a
bondage hard to escape, resulting in the loss of meaning in life and sometimes
in the loss of life itself.
In this situation, the Church feels the urgency of putting
the human person back at the centre of the socio-economic-cultural discourse; a
humanism founded on the "Gospel of Mercy". This calls for a
truly effective pastoral action in order to alleviate, care for and
heal the immense suffering caused by various forms of addiction, the
Pope said, stressing that “in the society of waste, God discards no
one; for Him no one is irredeemable!”
Combined effort to restore human dignity
The Holy Father said the Catholic Church is working with
civil, national and international institutions and various educational agencies,
to combat the spread of addictions through prevention, treatment,
rehabilitation and reintegration projects in order restore dignity to
those who have lost it. This calls for a combined effort among groups and
agencies to implement social programmes aimed at health, family support
and education.
The Pope backed the desire of the conference for better
coordination of anti-drugs and anti-addiction policies through networks
of solidarity and closeness to those suffering from these pathologies.
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