CATANZARO, 28 JUNE 2025 – An event full of meaning, not just symbolic. On the occasion of the International Day Against Drugs, a delegation from CREA – the coordination of accredited therapeutic communities in Calabria -, with president Vittoria Scarpino, took part in the special audience with Pope Leo XIV in the Cortile di San Damaso. A moment of listening, reflection, and recognition for those who work every day in prevention, recovery, and reintegration paths.
A moment of the highest symbolic and human value, which brought together in Vatican City sector operators, heads of therapeutic communities, young people on a path of rebirth, and representatives of institutions engaged in the fight against addiction. Also present was the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, through the Department for Anti-Drug Policies.
“Your presence here is a testimony of freedom,” said the Pope in his passionate speech, touching the hearts of a moved audience. “Drugs and addictions are an invisible prison, but we are all called to freedom. Evil is overcome together. Joy is found together. Injustice is fought together.”
For CREA Calabria, which has been at the forefront for years in welcoming and recovering people with addiction problems, the meeting represented a moment of great recognition and spiritual communion. “We felt that our work has an even deeper meaning – said president Scarpino. The Pope’s words give us the strength to continue with even more determination. We are not alone in this fight, and the Church is with us.”
During the audience, Pope Leo XIV recalled that “cities must not be freed from the desperate, but from despair”, denouncing in no uncertain terms the enormous criminal business behind drug trafficking and other forms of addiction, and reiterating the need for new policies based on encounter and human dignity.
CREA Calabria, which has managed over time to build paths of care, prevention, and reintegration, fully embraced the Pope’s message: change is possible, but it must be built “together”, putting the person at the center, never reducing them to their mistake.
In the heart of Rome, on a day of light and hope, the Pope’s voice became a caress, a warning, and a promise. And CREA Calabria was there, with an open heart and eyes looking forward.