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Pope takes on drug cartels
12/05/2007 22:33 - (SA)
Guaratingueta, Brazil - Pope Benedict warned Latin America's ruthless drugs cartels on Saturday that they would face God's harsh judgment for wrecking countless lives across the region.
After hearing moving stories of hardship and recovery from
former cocaine and heroin addicts on the fourth day of his
visit to Brazil, the Pope said drug abuse was a scourge
throughout Latin America.
"I therefore urge the drug dealers to reflect on the grave
harm they are inflicting on countless young people and on
adults from every level of society," he said in a speech to
recovering addicts at the Farm of Hope (Fazenda da Esperanca)
rehabilitation centre in the rural town of Guaratingueta.
"God will call you to account for your deeds. Human dignity
cannot be trampled upon in this way," he said.
Thousands of followers sang and waved flags as the Pope,
flanked by bodyguards, then walked through the crowd, smiling
and shaking hands.
The drugs trade has caused havoc and bloodshed in Latin
America, from Colombia, the world's main source of cocaine, to
Brazil, where rival trafficking gangs control many slums.
Although the United States was long the key market, Latin
American countries suffer from increasing addiction among their
own youth, compounding the social woes of poverty and violence.
Rival drug cartels in Mexico have killed about 800 people so
far this year in brutal turf wars.
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