Speakers say faith groups must help address substance abuse problems

Published: 2003-10-09

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The religious community can and should play a role in responding to the problem of substance abuse, representatives of Catholic, Protestant and Jewish groups said at a conference held in New York Oct. 8-10. Appearing the first day of the conference in a program dealing primarily with the medical, psychological and public policy aspects, they said treatment must address the whole person and the spiritual is an essential part of that. The conference was sponsored by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, an agency based in New York and affiliated with Columbia University but operated independently under its own board and not located on the university campus. Holy Cross Father Edward A. Malloy, president of the University of Notre Dame, was the moderator of the panel, titled "So Help Me God: Religion, Spirituality and Substance Abuse."

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