His Eminence Cardinal Peter Turkson, the Prefect of Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, released a message on the occasion of the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, observed on June 26. The theme of the June 26 observance this year – “Listen First – Listening to children and youth is the first step to help them grow healthy and safe” – is an initiative to increase support for prevention of drug use.
As reported by en.vaticannews.va, His Eminence Cardinal Turkson in a statement remarked that “The Vatican says that although prevention of drug abuse is a priority, it is also important to work for the rehabilitation of society’s drug victims in order to give them back their authentic joy of living, so that they do not feel discriminated against or stigmatized but accepted and understood for a path of interior renewal aimed at the search for good.”
Noting that in 2015 there were some 250 million drug users, 29.5 million of whom suffered from drug-related problems, His Eminence Cardinal Turkson drew attention to the considerable damage caused by drug use and abuse not only to health but also to development, peace and security in all regions of the world. Calling drug abuse an evil and a scourge against human dignity and freedom, he said it must be firmly condemned because it is fed by unscrupulous men who, yielding to the temptation of easy profit, sow death by killing hope and destroying many families.
