At a meeting with Raymond Yans, president of the Vienna-based International Narcotic Control Board, Pope Francis criticised the move to legalise the use of drugs and strongly condemned drug trafficking.

Yans said the Pope told him: “The scourge of drug trafficking, which promotes violence and disseminates suffering and death, requires an act of courage by the entire society.

“It is not with the liberalisation of drugs, as is being discussed in various parts of Latin America, that one will be able to reduce the spread and influence of chemical dependency”.

Venezuelan bishops defend newspapers

Archbishop of Caracas, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, warned that the shortage of imported newsprint that is threatening the existence of newspapers impinged on the constitutional rights of Venezuelans.

Critics say that while Hugo Chavez had fought against TV and radio companies by threatening to withdraw their licence, his successor is trying to silence newspapers though a shortage of newsprint. El Nacional – Venezuela’s most widely read newspaper – has already been forced to cut down its circulation.

Savino said if the situation continued, newspapers would not be able to perform their “important” function in a democratic country.

Bill ‘could endanger migrants’ health’

Bishop Patrick Lynch, an auxiliary bishop in Southwark, London, said he feared the British government’s Immigration Bill might deter vulnerable people from seeking help. He warned that victims of trafficking, female genital mutilation and domestic violence could be denied vital health care if it becomes law.

The Bill proposes to restrict migrants’ access to free NHS services. Lynch said it is very important that victims of such terrible crimes are not denied medical assistance.

“Victims of these horrific abuses are often reluctant to seek help in the first place and it is therefore essential that robust safeguards are in place.”

Encyclical on ‘human ecology’ in the making

Pope Francis is working on a new document addressing issues related to the ‘care of creation’, including protection of the environment and defence of the nature and dignity of the human person.

Vatican spokesperson Fr Federico Lombardi SJ confirmed that the Pope was preparing a text on ecology with an emphasis on “human ecology”, a term denoting a holistic understanding of all that the Church calls creation – from humans to the universe and its natural resources.

Lombardi said there was no date set for the finalisation of the text. Neither was there a decision of the form in which it will be published. He did not exclude the possibility that it would eventually be an encyclical about human ecology.

The Pope has repeatedly spoken about the duty of all humans, particularly Christians, to take care of creation. During his inauguration Mass he appealed to people to be protectors of creation.

Prayer intentions of the Pope for February

Pope Francis’s universal prayer intention for February is: “That the Church and society may respect the wisdom and experience of older people”.

His intention for evangelisation is: “That priests, religious, and lay people may work together with generosity for evangelisation”.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)