An awareness campaign to highlight the dangers of vaping will be introduced in dioceses around the country due to an increased number of contacts to the Irish Catholic Bishops Drugs Initiative (IBDI) about the issue.
At their Spring/Summer conference in Maynooth, bishops were told that there had been a rise in requests from the IBDI for education about the dangers inherent in some legally available vapes.
The Irish Bishops' Drugs Initiative has pastorally supported parish communities and schools in relation to drug/alcohol substance abuse in Ireland since 1997.
A parent contacted the IBDI about the dangers of the vape hexahydrocannabinol (HHC).
She said her daughter had become addicted with serious effects.
The bishop's conference was told about some of the possible side effects of HCC, including severe anxiety, paranoia, psychosis, long-term cognitive impairment, depression and suicidal ideation.
They were also told of the physical health risks, including rapid heart rate and seizures.
HHC has been regulated or banned in several European countries.
They agreed to raise awareness about the IBDI in dioceses and the work of its national coordinator Darren Butler.
They also discussed events marking Lent and the Jubilee Year.
They called on people - especially young people - to consider volunteering with organisations that provide outreach to those in the country who are most vulnerable like the Capuchin Day Centre.
The Irish Catholic Church designated three national pilgrimage sites for the Jubilee Year.
They are Our Lady’s Shrine, Knock, Co Mayo; Croagh Patrick, Co Mayo; and Saint Patrick’s Purgatory, Lough Derg in Co Donegal.