Social injustice and inequality must be reduced if the drug problem is to be dealt with effectively, the Catholic bishops' conference said yesterday in a new policy statement.
Entitled "Tackling the Drugs Problem Together", the document commits the church to working in partnership with other groups and individuals involved in drug prevention and treatment.
The bishops said that in a Christian community people without drug problems could not "turn their backs on those who have become dependent on drugs".
They said special attention should be given to prevention and education. In the preparation of sixth-class pupils for Confirmation, communication between children and parents on the issue of drugs would be focused on.
The Catholic Primate, Archbishop Sean Brady, introduced the policy document in Sligo yesterday at a meeting of the Irish bishops' conference.
It is the latest stage in a drugs initiative started in 1996 which also resulted in the publication of a pastoral letter, "Breaking The Silence", in April last year.
Dr Brady said the misuse of drugs was one of the gravest problems confronting the world today and that many lives had been "destroyed, debased and diminished".
He said the problem had reached "serious proportions" in many communities, urban and rural, in Ireland.
Catholics should inform themselves about the nature of substance abuse and its effects, and the church, with its network of parishes, was ideally placed for this, Dr Brady said.
Parishes should also support and make better known services already available for those who needed help.
"We must reach out to those hurt by drugs and addiction. We must remember who these people are. Some we have gone to school with, some we have worked with, some are our friends," Dr Brady added.
In defining the term "drug", the bishops said they recognised "alcohol causes more problems for young people and for families than any other drug in Ireland".
Over the coming year the focus would be on education and prevention. Church representatives on school management boards, the bishops said, should foster educational programmes for drug prevention. Training and personal development courses for parents should also be encouraged.
The policy document concludes by stating it is the church's belief social-economic deprivation provided an environment where drug use could flourish. "There is little point in trying to treat drug problems without also remedying the causes."