Pope Leo XIV is calling Catholics to respond to the devastating effects of addiction by drawing closer to families suffering from drug abuse, violence, poverty and social exclusion.
Speaking Thursday to participants in a meeting on “Addiction in Latin America” promoted by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, the Pope emphasized that the Church’s response must extend beyond individuals struggling with substance abuse to the families and communities affected alongside them.
According to Vatican News, Pope Leo welcomed representatives of faith-based centers involved in prevention, recovery, accompaniment and the reintegration of young people affected by drugs. With participants coming from several continents, the Pope observed that “suffering and hope know no borders.”
The Holy Father highlighted cooperation as an essential part of confronting addiction, pointing to several areas in which the Church can build bridges with others working toward the same goal.
One of those bridges is between faith and science. Pope Leo stressed that the Church does not seek to compete with fields such as neuroscience, psychiatry or public health. Instead, he said, the Church “seeks to shed the light of the Gospel upon it through an integral understanding of the human person.”
He also pointed to cooperation with international organizations and between people from different continents and Christian communities. According to Vatican News, the Pope cited collaboration involving the Organization of American States and the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops’ Council as examples of efforts that can strengthen faith-based community organizations.
At the heart of the Pope’s message, however, was the family.
Calling the family the “domestic Church,” Pope Leo described it as the place where human life receives care, direction and protection. “There is no better protection against drugs than a good family,” he said.
Yet many families are themselves carrying deep wounds.
“Today,” Pope Leo said, “we witness the suffering of many broken families, whether because of drug use, violence, the criminal recruitment of a child, poverty, or the lack of opportunities that pushes people to the margins.”
For Catholics, the Pope’s words present addiction not simply as an individual struggle, but as suffering that calls for a deeply Christian response of accompaniment, compassion and practical care.
Recalling Pope Francis’ call for the Church to “touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others,” Pope Leo urged Catholics to become a genuine family for people who have been wounded or abandoned.
“May the Church be the family of all those left by the roadside,” Pope Leo said. “Let us build a Church that stops, draws near, is moved with compassion, anoints wounds, provides nourishment, and becomes a home.”
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