{"id":400,"date":"2026-05-24T07:04:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T07:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=400"},"modified":"2026-05-24T07:04:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T07:04:42","slug":"pope-leo-meets-families-of-youth-lost-to-illegal-toxic-waste-dumping-in-italys-land-of-fires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=400","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo meets families of youth lost to illegal toxic waste dumping in Italy\u2019s \u2018Land of Fires\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ACERRA, Italy \u2014 Pope Leo XIV on Saturday greeted one by one families who lost loved ones to illegal toxic dumping in an area near Naples, tied to a multi-billion criminal racket run by the mafia.<\/p>\n

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Many paused to share photographs and other mementos of children and young people who have died or are battling cancer because of the pollution.<\/p>\n

Leo\u2019s visit to the so-called Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, came on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis\u2019 big ecological encyclical Laudato Si (Praised Be), and indicates Leo\u2019s commitment to carry on his predecessor\u2019s environmental agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have come first of all to gather the tears of those who have lost loved ones, killed by environmental pollution caused by unscrupulous people and organizations who for too long were able to act with impunity,\u201d Leo said in remarks to family members and local clergy inside Acerra\u2019s cathedral.<\/p>\n

The pontiff recalled that the area now dubbed the Land of Fires was once called \u201cCampania felix,\u201d Latin for blessed or fruitful countryside, \u201ccapable for enchanting for its fertility, its produce and its culture, like a hymn to life.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd yet – here is death, of the land and of men,\u2019\u2019 the pope said.<\/p>\n\n

PHOTOS: Pope Leo meets families of youth lost to illegal toxic waste dumping in Italy’s ‘Land of Fires’<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The European Court of Human Rights last year validated a generation of residents\u2019 complaints that mafia dumping, burial and burning of toxic waste led to an increased rate of cancer and other ailments in the area of 90 municipalities around Caserta and Naples, encompassing a population of 2.9 million people.<\/p>\n

The court found Italian authorities had known since 1988 about the toxic pollution, blamed on the Camorra crime syndicate that controls waste disposal, but failed to take necessary steps to protect the residents. The binding ruling gave Italy two years to set up a database about the toxic waste and verified health risks associated with living there.<\/p>\n

Bishop says the dumping continues<\/h3>\n

Bishop Antonio Di Donna estimated 150 young people had died in the city of some 58,000 over the past three decades – emphasizing in his opening remarks that the number didn\u2019t take into account adults and victims in other municipalities.<\/p>\n

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He urged the pope to admonish those who continue to pollute, noting that the dumping of tons of toxic waste was reported a day earlier near Castera. Di Donna said that Italian officials had identified dozens more human-caused contamination sites throughout the country, including the Venetian port of Marghera, and the leaching of PFAS forever chemicals into groundwater near Vicenza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe say to those brothers of ours ensnared in evil and seized by a mirage of fabulous earnings: Convert, change your ways, because what you are doing is not only a crime, it is a sin that cries out to God for vengeance,\u2019\u2019 the bishop said.<\/p>\n

The pope later greeted the mayors of the 90 communities impacted by the toxic dumping, and greeted thousands of people waving yellow flags and chanting \u201cPapa Leone\u201d along the route of his popemobile and in a central piazza.<\/p>\n

Families of young victims appeal to the pope<\/h3>\n

The victims include Maria Venturato, who died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 25. Her father, Angelo, said he hopes to speak with the pope to explain their reality, \u201cnot for me \u2026 for the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to give these young people a future, so I\u2019m asking for the pope\u2019s help with this. That is, I\u2019m making a strong appeal to him to go to those in power and say, \u2018Look, let\u2019s heal this land of fires,\u2019\u201d he said on the eve of the pope\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n

Inside the cathedral, Filomena Carolla presented the pope with a book containing memories from the life of her daughter, Tina De Angelis, who died of cancer at the age of 24.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just angry at the people who poisoned the soil, because what did our children have to do with it? What did they have to do with it, so young,\u201d Carolla told The Associated Press on Friday.<\/p>\n

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Francis\u2019 plans to visit the area in 2020 were canceled due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday greeted one by one families who lost loved ones to illegal toxic dumping in an area near Naples, tied to a multi-billion criminal racket run by the mafia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[348,347,349],"class_list":["post-400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-camorra","tag-pope-leo-xiv","tag-terra-dei-fuochi"],"yoast_head":"\nPope Leo meets families of youth lost to illegal toxic waste dumping in Italy\u2019s \u2018Land of Fires\u2019 - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=400\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pope Leo meets families of youth lost to illegal toxic waste dumping in Italy\u2019s \u2018Land of Fires\u2019 - 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