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.
"Events like this will transform your parish," said
Conway, who became active in the church a decade ago, after being sidelined by
a work-related disability at age 42.
Unable to continue in his manufacturing job, Conway began
organizing simple parish picnics that eventually spawned a peer education
program on a range of youth issues, including substance abuse and cellphone
safety.
Having since completed a degree in social sciences, Conway
stressed that teens are vital to addiction-prevention efforts.
"When you give young people a challenge, that responsibility
enhances their self-esteem," Conway said, adding that older teens often
can advise younger teens with greater credibility and sensitivity.
The presentation included a dramatic performance by Alison and
Ciara Blair, a mother and daughter who acted out an addicted teen stealing from
a parent and snorting heroin.
Alison Blair then described in detail how addiction radically
alters family dynamics. Mothers, often the first to suspect abuse, can become
"lifelines and leaders in bringing the family" back to stability, she
said.
Panelist Tracey Doyle said families have been the driving force
in Ireland's response to addiction.
"In the 1980s, heroin use was widespread here, and there was
no real aid," said Doyle, who now works with Ballyfermot STAR, a
Dublin-based organization that provides addiction recovery resources to the
local community. "Families started to mobilize, and then the church and
the government started to get on board."
Auxiliary Bishop Eamonn Walsh of Dublin exhorted attendees,
particularly the laity, to redouble their support for addiction recovery
outreaches. A former prison chaplain, he said he had buried 11 young women over
a two-year period due to heroin overdoses, spurring him to a new compassion for
those struggling with substance abuse.
Bishop Walsh reminded attendees that Pope Francis "asks us
to leave a mark" on the world as part of the call to holiness.
"You can make a difference," said Bishop Walsh.
"Remember that God walks with us, even if we look away. We have to walk
with one another and never give up on anybody."