News (Media Awareness Project) - US NM: Editorial: Church Takes Action Against Drug Abuse |
| Title: | US NM: Editorial: Church Takes Action Against Drug Abuse |
| Published On: | 2001-11-03 |
| Source: | Albuquerque Journal (NM) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-25 05:29:40 |
CHURCH TAKES ACTION AGAINST DRUG ABUSE
In April, during the annual Easter pilgrimage to Chimayc, Archbishop Michael Sheehan knelt alongside the road at the spot where he had seen 17-year-old Ricky Martinez's sheet-covered body the year before. And he prayed.
Martinez and Karen Castanon, also 17, were "two wholesome kids on their way to church," in Sheehan's words. They were killed for no apparent reason by a man drunk and high on cocaine.
Sheehan prayed that their deaths not be in vain, "that the death they suffered bring greater awareness of the problem of drugs."
This Sunday, those who attend services in the 92 parishes of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe will hear Sheehan's fulfillment of that plea. During Mass, priests will read the archbishop's four-page pastoral letter, which calls for commitment from the archdiocese, parishes, families and individuals -- including non-Catholics -- to reduce the "terrible curse" of drugs.
The letter will encourage priests to speak out about drugs, offer spiritual support and provide education and counseling through Catholic charities. Parishioners will be asked to form support groups and churches will be called upon to provide space for groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. To fund individual programs, a special collection will be held this weekend as well.
The letter is the culmination of Sheehan's own pilgrimage toward an answer to the state's top health problem. New Mexico has the highest per capita rate of drug-induced death in the nation.
Sheehan says he first became aware of the problem during visits to jails and prisons, where a vast majority of inmates have abused drugs or alcohol. He then presided over four public forums attended by about 1,300 New Mexicans. Drug and alcohol abuse, he said, are doorways to domestic violence, broken families, poverty and prison.
The church's very public efforts have already cut through the denial that has allowed the problem to persist over generations as "normal behavior." Now, the archdiocese is following through with a promise of spiritual and physical support to help families break the cycle -- two components of intervention that cannot be underestimated in terms of their potential for real progress.
In April, during the annual Easter pilgrimage to Chimayc, Archbishop Michael Sheehan knelt alongside the road at the spot where he had seen 17-year-old Ricky Martinez's sheet-covered body the year before. And he prayed.
Martinez and Karen Castanon, also 17, were "two wholesome kids on their way to church," in Sheehan's words. They were killed for no apparent reason by a man drunk and high on cocaine.
Sheehan prayed that their deaths not be in vain, "that the death they suffered bring greater awareness of the problem of drugs."
This Sunday, those who attend services in the 92 parishes of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe will hear Sheehan's fulfillment of that plea. During Mass, priests will read the archbishop's four-page pastoral letter, which calls for commitment from the archdiocese, parishes, families and individuals -- including non-Catholics -- to reduce the "terrible curse" of drugs.
The letter will encourage priests to speak out about drugs, offer spiritual support and provide education and counseling through Catholic charities. Parishioners will be asked to form support groups and churches will be called upon to provide space for groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. To fund individual programs, a special collection will be held this weekend as well.
The letter is the culmination of Sheehan's own pilgrimage toward an answer to the state's top health problem. New Mexico has the highest per capita rate of drug-induced death in the nation.
Sheehan says he first became aware of the problem during visits to jails and prisons, where a vast majority of inmates have abused drugs or alcohol. He then presided over four public forums attended by about 1,300 New Mexicans. Drug and alcohol abuse, he said, are doorways to domestic violence, broken families, poverty and prison.
The church's very public efforts have already cut through the denial that has allowed the problem to persist over generations as "normal behavior." Now, the archdiocese is following through with a promise of spiritual and physical support to help families break the cycle -- two components of intervention that cannot be underestimated in terms of their potential for real progress.
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