This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the participants in the meeting promoted by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America regarding situations of addiction in Latin America.

The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present during the meeting:

Address of the Holy Father

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Peace be with you.

Good morning to you all, and welcome!

I extend a fraternal greeting to each and every one of you. I would like to express my particular gratitude to the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) and the Organization of American States (OAS) for having facilitated this meeting, as well as to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the Pontifical Academy for Life.

I also greet our brothers and sisters from faith-based centres for support, preventive intervention, recovery and integration of young people, who have come from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas; their presence reminds us that suffering and hope know no borders.

The theme that brings us together is to reflect, from a faith-based perspective, on the problem of drugs and its impact on our young people. Addiction is a complex phenomenon that highlights the failure of a dehumanized world. The suffering of young people calls for comprehensive responses: community-based prevention, scientific care, justice with a human face, and close pastoral support. Our contribution must be directed towards care, presence and the rebuilding of the fabric of the community.

I am pleased to note how, at this meeting, four bridges converge, each representing a different pathway for collaboration in this field.

The first bridge is between the Church and international organizations, as no one can tackle the problem of drugs alone. For this reason, the ongoing collaboration between the Organization of American States and the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) deserves special mention; they coordinate training for faith-based community organizations, build support networks, and have even enabled CELAM to present the Manual on Latin American Pastoral Care for the Support and Prevention of Addictions.

The second bridge is between science and faith. The Church does not intervene in the issue of drugs with the intention of competing with or taking the place of neuroscience, psychiatry or public health; rather, it seeks to shed light on the issue from the perspective of the Gospel, with a integral understanding of the human person.

The third bridge is within the Church as she makes her pilgrim journey across the various continents. Over the past few days, people from the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe have come here to share their sorrows, hopes and pastoral enthusiasm.

The fourth bridge is ecumenical. The Catholic Church and other ecclesial communities, in practising concrete love for those who suffer, find a very eloquent common language rooted in faith to accompany and assist young people in their needs and dreams.

But allow me to pause for a moment on an institution that cuts across all our work: the family. The family, which the Second Vatican Council rightly called the “domestic church” (cf. Lumen gentium, 11), is the place where life is nurtured, cared for and planned. There is no better defence against drugs than a good family.

Today, we bear witness to the pain of many broken families, whether due to drug use, violence, the criminal recruitment of a child, poverty or the lack of opportunities that push people to the margins of society. Saint John Paul II asked us to make the Church “the home and the school of communion” (Apostolic Letter Novo millennio ineunte, 43). And Pope Francis reminded us that Jesus wants us to “touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, 270). Herein lies the very heart of the mission you are carrying out: that the Church may be a family, especially embracing those who suffer.

Finally, I would like to express a wish to you: that the Church may be a family for all those who have been left by the wayside. Like the Good Samaritan, who became a neighbour to the fallen man, let us not pass by; let us build a Church that stops, draws close, is moved with compassion, binds wounds, nourishes and becomes a home.

Thank you for your work. God bless you.

I impart the Lord’s blessing to you. May God’s grace be with you all, your families and your work at all times. The work you do in different parts of the world is very important.

[Blessing]