A statue of the Virgin Mary, depicting her with symbols of drug dependency under her feet, was unveiled by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Connell, in Jobstown yesterday.
The statue was unveiled outside the headquarters of Jobstown Assisting Drugs Dependency, a community group formed to address drug abuse.
Dr Connell said it was "a statue for our times, bringing hope, through faith and art, to those fighting against drugs and drug-dependency." The statue, designed by Donal McManus, was specially commissioned to highlight the community's struggle against drugs.
Dr Connell praised those working against drugs in Jobstown. He said drug and other dependencies were a problem for all social classes, not just those communities normally regarded as disadvantaged.
Families and communities throughout the city were affected by drugs and needed support at different levels: from Government, which must help resource their efforts; from the media, which must highlight successes as well as the failures; and from the church, the community of believers, which needed to show solidarity with those combating drugs.
"Parishes in particular can play a vital role by supporting local initiatives to combat drug dependence," Dr Connell said.
He said that in a Christian community families where there were no drug problems could not turn their backs on others devastated by drug use. No family could say: "It will never happen to us".
The Archbishop stressed the importance of developing peer support and referred to a project, piloted in a nearby school by the Diocesan Drugs Awareness Programme, called "Adventure in the City". Its aim was to encourage young people to support each other in avoiding drugs.
He said it was not only drug-users who needed healing. "Families and whole communities need support when they are affected by drug problems. Drug issues can divide families and communities, and when divisions occur, the dealers prosper."