….one of the places Benedict will visit in Brazil, via Aid to the Church in Need:

Some 2 000 former drug addicts are now preparing to receive Pope Benedict XVI in the men´s centre of Pedrinhas, close to Guaratingueta. The Pope’s visit is scheduled May 12, 2007, a day before the V General Conference of the Latin American Bishops’ Council (CELAM) is due to begin in Aparecida. So far not only Brazilians have been cured. The “Fazenda da Esperança”, a Franciscan model of healing exists in more than eight countries worldwide, among them Paraguay, Argentina and Mexico.

Ulrich Kny, Latin American expert at Aid to the Church in Need’s headquarters comments:

The fact, that the Holy Father shall spend one day of his short stay in Brazil at “Fazenda da Esperança”, shows the importance of the problem of drugs and how much he appreciates the initiative of Frei Hans Stapel. There is not only a desintoxication, but also the discovery to be loved by God and to make a fresh start. The cured give a vivid testimony of healing by God nowadays, and this way the Gospel finds its continuation. For the preparation of the Pope’s visit a demand has been introduced, he added.