THE TABLET
September 27, 2008

Prayer, Action Vs. Addiction

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Addiction is an illness.  It is not a bad habit, a sign of weakness or even a moral deficit.  It is a treatable illness.  When untreated, addiction can kill people and destroy families.  This illness has become a major societal cause of family breakup and individual suffering beyond our imagining.  Some of the statistics on the state of substance abuse in our country are startling.  There are over 20.4 million illicit drug users over the age of 12.  The annual cost of substance abuse (including health and crime related consequences) exceeds one-half trillion dollars.  There are 6 million people, 65 years of age and over, who abuse alcohol and/or drugs.  That number is expected to double by 2020. 

In a complex society such as our own, we have to challenge ourselves and our youth especially, to recognize that dependency on substances is not the way to live.  We must give moral support and religious training to our youth so they can see life in a different way; one that will not allow them to fall into the syndrome of abuse and further, which would be a real detriment to their lives.

Prevention is important.  Many have focused their attention on stopping the flow of drugs into our country, but that is only a small part of the problem.  If there were no demand for drugs, no one would find it useful to bring them into the country.  Unfortunately, many are not only using imported drugs, but also those readily available, in everyone’s medicine cabinet.  Alcohol too, is very available, and while it is not evil in itself, it is when it is abused.  We must give attention as a society and as a Church to the effort to prevent both our young and old from having recourse to substances that will harm them.  At the same time, we must give attention to treatment so that those who find themselves in this situation can have the necessary help.

It is critical that prevention efforts begin at an early age.  Research indicates that the later in age that youth experiment with drugs or alcohol; the less likely they are to become chemically dependent.  If our young people are given the correct information and the skills needed to make healthy decisions, they are less likely to develop serious addiction problems later in life.  In our Catholic schools we are fortunate to have programs of addiction prevention (some of which are funded by the State) so that our youth are equipped with the proper information and moral training to resist experimenting with drugs or alcohol.

In the Diocese of Brooklyn, we are also fortunate, to have in place programs that assist those exposed to substance abuse.  The Program for the Development of Human Potential (PDHP) endeavors to reduce risk factors and to enhance protective factors to help our youth from going down the path of addiction. This valuable program utilizes educational classroom presentations in life skills, decision making, and drug, alcohol and gambling prevention tailored especially for our students.  PDHP also provides individual assessments and prevention counseling.  Additionally, it offers: programs for parents, family therapy services, and teacher / group-facilitator training.  In the past school year alone, approximately 10,000 students received or participated in services provided by PDHP.  Our youth needs to be protected as well as informed, and programs such as this are truly important.

Catholic Charities and the Program for the Development of Human Potential (PDHP) have taken the lead in addressing the pervasive problem of addiction.  The two diocesan agencies cooperated in developing the Diocesan Alcohol and Substance Abuse Assistance Program.  Through the program, families in our parishes are able have access to a network of specialized providers who represent a full range of support for those who face the challenges of alcohol and substance abuse.  This service holistically addresses addiction through prevention, assessment, treatment and aftercare.  I urge those who are suffering from the effects of alcohol and or substance abuse, especially as a family, to take advantage of this important resource.  Make a confidential call to the hotline number at 1-800-659-1603 which is based at the Catholic Charities Flatbush Addiction Treatment Center.  A licensed social worker will connect the caller to an appropriate service provider in the network.  This may be the most important call you will ever make!

In recognition of the importance of the dual strategy of treatment and prevention September 28th and 29th are designated as Recovery Sunday and Family Day, respectively.  This is a national program that has been promoted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.  The program’s president and chairman is Joseph A. Califano, Jr., a former secretary of Health and Human Services.  Recovery Sunday is a special day of prayer for those in recovery from addictive illnesses.  “Some healing takes more… It takes prayer,” (Mark 9:28-29) as Jesus told us in Mark’s Gospel.  I ask you to join in prayer this Sunday for those individuals and families who suffer from the ill effects of addiction.

Family Day is intended to encourage all families to take the time to share a meal together and communicate with one another.  It is significant that Jesus chose the Passover meal as the time when he would engage in the most profound relationship with His disciples, giving them the everlasting memorial of His Presence by taking bread and wine and allowing them to become His own body and blood for all eternity.  A meal is a time of special intimacy.  Research shows that children who regularly eat together with their parents or guardians are most likely to communicate openly and are less likely to smoke, drink, or use drugs.

As a society and as a Church we must put out into the deep in trying to stem the tide of addictions in our society.  They come in all shapes and sizes, though addictions to alcohol and substance abuse are particularly difficult to uproot.  By prayer and action we will be successful in turning the tide in our society through our faithfulness to Jesus’ injunction to pray for the healing, so necessary today.