Pope Leo: ‘There is no better defense against drugs than a good family’

August 27, 2026

Pope Leo XIV said today that “there is no better defense against drugs than a good family.”

The Pontiff made his remarks in an address to participants in a meeting devoted to “Faith-Based Response to Drugs and the Criminal Recruitment of Young People: A Dialogue from Latin America and the Caribbean to the World.” The Pontifical Commission for Latin America organized the meeting, in conjunction with the atin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council’s Latin American Ministry for Accompaniment and Prevention of Addictions and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission.

“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,” Pope Leo said during the audience, which took place this morning in Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “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,” he continued. “Our contribution must be directed towards care, presence and the rebuilding of the fabric of the community.”

Pope Leo spoke of the convergence of four bridges, “each representing a different pathway for collaboration”:

• a bridge “between the Church and international organizations, as no one can tackle the problem of drugs alone”
• a bridge “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.”
• a bridge “within the Church as she makes her pilgrim journey across the various continents”
• an ecumenical bridge: “the Catholic Church and other ecclesial communities, in practicing 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.”

After stating that “there is no better defense against drugs than a good family,” Pope Leo said that “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.”

The Pontiff added:

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 neighbor 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.

 

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Further information:

• To the Participants in the Meeting Promoted by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America on Addiction-Related Situations in Latin America (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 8/27/26)
• Audience with participants in the Meeting promoted by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America regarding situations of addiction in Latin America (Holy See Press Office, 8/27/26)
• Pope: Church must help broken families heal from drug abuse (Vatican News, 8/27/26)