New confirmation pledge will ask teens to abstain from smoking, vapes and drugs
For generations, 'the pledge' has been a rite of passage among 11- and 12-year-olds who receive the sacrament, and traditionally a commitment was made to abstain from alcohol and drugs.
However, from next year the 'Grow in Love' series, which is used by Catholic primary schools to prepare students for confirmation, will contain a new online module.
This will update the confirmation pledge to include smoking and vaping as well as drugs.
The module will also provide resources to encourage healthier lifestyle choices during these formative years.
Bishop Michael Router, of the Irish Bishops' Drugs Initiative, said the sacrament of confirmation, which is taken by 80pc of Catholic children, provided 'a wonderful opportunity to speak to a large cohort of young people and their parents and guardians'.
The aim was 'to warn them of the dangers of what is available nowadays to young people, but shouldn't be'.
Dr Router said parents had approached the bishops about the addictive nature of vapes containing synthetic cannabis and the effect it could have on young people.
'It really only came to my attention in the last six or seven months how dangerous some vapes are,' the bishop said.
'Parents contacted us and told us of how their son or daughter had been able to buy synthetic cannabinoids under age.'
He also said there were 'dangers with alcohol and massive dangers with drugs, which are so widely available around the country and relatively cheap'.
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The bishops' move is a response to growing concern over young people who are caught in addiction and end up losing interest in their studies and sport. Some run up debts, which in some cases their parents are being intimidated to repay.
Bishop Router said most parishes today linked the pledge to a ceremony of light before confirmation itself.
'At confirmations I would always mention to the children that they have taken the pledge and talk about the dangers that drugs pose to young people. People need to be alert to the dangers,' he said.
This new confirmation initiative is part of the church's recognition of the legacy of Dublin ascetic and former alcoholic, Venerable Matt Talbot, who died 100 years ago this month.
'It also supports our young people in terms of physical and mental health, and goes some way to address the concerns of parents regarding new and harmful substances impacting the health and well-being of their children,' the bishops said.
Separately, the bishops have said that 'words are not enough' in relation to Gaza, where famine is being used 'as a weapon of war'.
They said the death of tens of thousands of non-combatants, many of them women and children, was 'unconscionable and disproportionate'.
They added that it was 'immoral for world leaders to stand by inactively in the face of this outrageous tragedy for humanity'.
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New confirmation pledge will ask teens to abstain from smoking, vapes and drugs
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