At rehab center, pope calls recovering addicts 'ambassadors of hope'

Published: 2008-07-18

SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI told a group of young Australians recovering from drug and alcohol abuse that he considers them "ambassadors of hope." Those who have struggled to overcome addiction and get their lives back on a positive track are the best ones to help others who are lost and suffering, the pope said July 18. While thousands of young Catholics from around the world were celebrating World Youth Day in Sydney, Pope Benedict stopped to visit a rehabilitation community and support program run by the Sydney Archdiocese's social service agency. A young man and a young woman publicly shared their stories with the pope, struggling with emotion to speak of their difficult pasts and their joy in finding the program that helps disadvantaged youths, including the homeless and refugees as well as those trying to overcome substance abuse. The program is called Alive and the pope said the participants, like the people following Moses, had been given the stark choice of choosing life or death. "They had to turn away from other gods and worship the true God," the pope said.

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