Magisterial documents regarding drug abuse

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Vir_Iucundus

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Laudetur !
I have had a strong feeling that taking illegal drugs (cocaine and so on) is a grave matter. Nevertheless, I find nothing magisterial regarding this problem. All I could find was an article in CCC. The only problem is that article lack a citation of a magisterial source. A cathehism book is not a magisterial document in itself, at least in a traditional catholic perspective.

So: do we have documents in which a pope, an assembly of bishops or at least a single bishop speaking from his cathedra define illegal drug taking as a grave matter ?

In corde Iesu.
 
I would imagine that consuming something illegal in and of itself is not a grave matter, since the state is not the arbiter of what is right and what is wrong. Wine used to be illegal and still is not available for sale in some parts of the U.S., although during the failed prohibition there was a sacramental exception written into the law. Taken to the extreme, it used to be illegal to harbor illegal Jews in Germany, or runaway slaves in some parts of the U.S., even though breaking the law was the moral thing to do.

Perhaps the issue relates to the motivation of the user rather than the use itself.
 
Vir_Iucundus said:
Laudetur !
I have had a strong feeling that taking illegal drugs (cocaine and so on) is a grave matter. Nevertheless, I find nothing magisterial regarding this problem. All I could find was an article in CCC. The only problem is that article lack a citation of a magisterial source. A cathehism book is not a magisterial document in itself, at least in a traditional catholic perspective.

So: do we have documents in which a pope, an assembly of bishops or at least a single bishop speaking from his cathedra define illegal drug taking as a grave matter ?

In corde Iesu.
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I am not sure if this is what you are looking for but there is this from a Vatican pontifical council.

“Church, Drugs, and Drug Addiction,” was produced by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry

I haven’t found the whole manual online but the preface is here

vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/hlthwork/documents/rc_pc_hlthwork_doc_20011101_chiesa-droga-presentation_en.html
 
Vir_Iucundus said:
Laudetur !
I have had a strong feeling that taking illegal drugs (cocaine and so on) is a grave matter. Nevertheless, I find nothing magisterial regarding this problem. All I could find was an article in CCC. The only problem is that article lack a citation of a magisterial source. A cathehism book is not a magisterial document in itself, at least in a traditional catholic perspective.

So: do we have documents in which a pope, an assembly of bishops or at least a single bishop speaking from his cathedra define illegal drug taking as a grave matter ?

In corde Iesu.
Click to expand...
This is the Church teaching which binds all Catholics. What more do you need? Para 2291 says it all.

CCC 2291 The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.
 
thistle said:
This is the Church teaching which binds all Catholics. What more do you need? Para 2291 says it all.

CCC 2291 The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.
Click to expand...
This still leaves some questions, such as is it “licit” to use mind-altering substances that are currently legal?

Salvia divinorum is still legal in most states. Most state legislatures have refrained from banning it—presumably because it’s seen as holding little danger and perhaps holding some therapeutic potential, and banning it would make it much harder for the pharmacological and psychiatric communities to research it.
 
Vir_Iucundus said:
Laudetur !
I have had a strong feeling that taking illegal drugs (cocaine and so on) is a grave matter. Nevertheless, I find nothing magisterial regarding this problem. All I could find was an article in CCC. The only problem is that article lack a citation of a magisterial source. A cathehism book is not a magisterial document in itself, at least in a traditional catholic perspective.

So: do we have documents in which a pope, an assembly of bishops or at least a single bishop speaking from his cathedra define illegal drug taking as a grave matter ?

In corde Iesu.
Click to expand...
Building on what Thistle says, the Catechism has binding authority of its own. The worldwide drug problem is so complex, that there is no monolithic position of the Church on this matter. Preventing the import/export or manufacture of drugs is largely a political problem, and treating addiction and sideffects is a medical problem, both of which fall outside of the direct competance of the church.

The church can certainly outline some guidelines that are consistent with church doctrine and social justice positions. The handbook on drug abuse is an example. The church would wish to ensure that criminal penalities are proportional and respect human dignity, such as not targeting exclusively the poor or marginalized. For bonefide religious use, for instance, the church wouldn’t want to see a Native American Indian Church adherant be sent to jail for twenty years for consuming peote during a ritual. Man’s freedom to seek God should not be so disportionately burdened.

As such, the church make known that it does not approve of illegal druge use, and condemns the risk to one’s health in consuming the drug, and the scandal and danger caused by the illegal import and manufacture. This is a pretty broad condemnation of drug use, even if very brief. However, the implementation of this on the local scale changes dramatically from region to region, and would must be left to the competant authorities.
 
Vir_Iucundus said:
Laudetur !
I have had a strong feeling that taking illegal drugs (cocaine and so on) is a grave matter. Nevertheless, I find nothing magisterial regarding this problem. All I could find was an article in CCC. The only problem is that article lack a citation of a magisterial source. A cathehism book is not a magisterial document in itself, at least in a traditional catholic perspective.

So: do we have documents in which a pope, an assembly of bishops or at least a single bishop speaking from his cathedra define illegal drug taking as a grave matter ?

In corde Iesu.
Click to expand...
Actually, the CCC is a magisterial document. It was promulgated by the Magisterium, not by a publisher and an individual writer. You may want to go back and read the decree at the beginning written by the pope. Few Catechisms are promulgated by the Magisterium. For example, the Baltimore Catechism was never promulgated by the Magisterium. In reality, Rome did not like it at all; but that’s another story for another day. The CCC was promulgated by the Magisterium. Therefore, it is a magisterial document.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, FFV 🙂
 
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