Fr luciano felloni biography

Father Luciano Airel Felloni, an Argentinian missionary who has lived in the Philippines for twenty years, has started a serious effort to rehabilitate drug addicts and lead them to live a meaningful and dignified life in his parish in the diocese of Novaliches, near Manila.

This is the approach that the Church in the Philippines proposes in response to the "anti-drug" campaign launched by Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte who, since his election in June , has mobilized law enforcement agencies to solve the problem of drugs in the country in a violent way.
An Option to the Government’s Errant Strategy

The government's strategy, based on fear and the action of law enforcement, is highly criticized: since the beginning of his presidency, on average 33 people have been killed by the police (over 4, suspected drug addicts in total), but there are another 23, extrajudicial killings, carried out by squadrons of "vigilantes".

The vast majority of victims are poor, who cannot afford private rehabilitation programs.

Many priests and religious throughout the country, such as Fr. Felloni, have undertaken rehabilitation and recovery programs for drug addicts. Some communities are trying to fill the gaps due to the government's failures. In September , Father Felloni, while the number of drug suspects killed in his community continued to rise, began working with local civil leaders, starting an outpatient recovery program in his parish.

What can we do to help?

"We asked ourselves what we could do in our small way to help a campaign against drugs, but working in the right way, in defense of the dignity of every person, and of the community", explains Fr.

Felloni to Fides.

Initially, the project had to deal with the police’s hostility and the skepticism of drug addicts.

Fr luciano felloni biography wikipedia Fr. Luciano is an Argentinian missionary born in Mar del Plata, Argentina on May 28, Fr. Felloni is very much a Filipino and speaks fluent Filipino. He has served and influenced hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in the country in his social media, diocesan ministry and parish work.

Within a year, the enrollment of the persons under treatment increased to 40 and confidence began to increase. Father Felloni's commitment is to reintegrate former drug addicts into society, helping them to "live a good life".

The Catholic Church in the Philippines has repeatedly urged the government to change its approach to the "war on drugs": instead of killing, the right path is rehabilitation, recovery and reintegration in the social fabric of people who have fallen into the trap of addiction, said the bishops.

(Reprinted with permission of Agenzia Fides )