Irish bishops combat drug addiction through parish life, partnerships

Although there are so many ways on how to combat drug addiction, not all of them can be effective. Indeed. The problem has been going on around for so many years now, but there are no signs that it is near over. The number of users is continuously increasing. This is a sad reality but its happening in today’s time. This means that so many futures are getting broken because of drugs.

However, it’s a good thing also that people are not giving up on it. They also keep on thinking of ways on how to combat drug addiction. In Dublin, their parish is doing so much to help with this problem. They have parish life and partnerships as their way of fighting drugs. This is an excellent initiative as this will not only help people stay away from drugs, but will also encourage them to seek help and believe in God.

Click to read the article.

DUBLIN – Parish life, peer education and public-private partnerships are needed to combat addiction, said Darren Butler, national coordinator of the Irish Bishops’ Drugs Initiative during an Aug. 22 presentation at the World Meeting of Families 2018 in Dublin.

More than 140 people listened Aug. 22 as Butler described the multifaceted pastoral response developed by the initiative, established in 1997 to address the issue of substance abuse in Irish society. Since then, the initiative has worked with numerous local and national agencies to provide resources for recovery.

Parish and diocesan structures are key to the initiative’s mission, said Butler, as they enable his team “to reach areas many other programs miss.”

Since young people are vulnerable to drug and alcohol experimentation when transitioning to secondary school, the initiative invites students preparing for confirmation to pledge themselves to a healthy lifestyle. As part of their “confirmation commitment,” they attend a ceremony at which their sponsors promise to serve as positive role models. Students are then presented with commemorative wristbands and bookmarks listing the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Panelist David Conway of Kilkenny, Ireland, noted that his parish had created “family fun days” to strengthen both the confirmation commitment and communal life.

The post Irish bishops combat drug addiction through parish life, partnerships appeared first on Addiction Treatment.

from
http://alanonmeetingsnear.me/2018/08/24/irish-bishops-combat-drug-addiction-parish-life-partnerships/