At Pope Francis’s request, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences hosted a
two-day workshop on November 23-24 devoted to “narcotics: problems and
solutions of this global issue.”Addressing workshop participants on November 24 at the academy’s headquarters, the Pope described drug abuse as “a scourge in our society” and “a new form of slavery.”
“Each dependent person has his or her own distinct story, and must be listened to, understood and loved, and as far as possible, healed and purified,” he continued.
“It is not surprising that so many people fall prey to drug dependency, because worldliness offers us a wide range of possibilities for achieving ephemeral happiness, which eventually becomes poison, which corrodes, corrupts and kills.”
Lamenting the influence of organized crime and decrying the “ineptitude of governments” in addressing the problem, the Pope said that “in order to curb the demand for drugs, it is necessary to make great efforts and to implement extensive social programs oriented towards health, family support and, above all, education.”