ROME (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV traveled May 23 to the southern Italian town of Acerra, where he met with families who have lost children and loved ones to cancers linked to decades of illegal toxic waste dumping by the mafia.
The visit brought him to the heart of what locals call the “Land of Fires,” a territory also known as the “Triangle of Death,” where illegal burning of toxic waste by the Camorra crime syndicate has fueled a public health crisis for more than two decades.
Inside the cathedral of Acerra, a town of roughly 65,000 residents near Naples, the pope met with mothers who held photographs of family members who have died or are battling cancer.
“I have come first and foremost to gather the tears of those who have lost loved ones, killed by environmental pollution caused by unscrupulous individuals and organizations, who for too long have been able to act with impunity,” Pope Leo said. “I am here, however, also to thank those who have responded to evil with good, especially a Church that has dared to speak out and be prophetic, to gather the people in hope.”
40-year-old crisis
According to Acerra’s Bishop Antonio Di Donna, the environmental crisis began in the 1980s.
“Over the course of about 30 years, hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic waste from many industries in Northern Italy were dumped in a part of this territory. This resulted in significant savings for corrupt industrialists and enormous profits for organized crime,” the bishop told the pope in his opening remarks in the cathedral.
“Pollution has caused illness and premature death, particularly among children and young people, who are the true victims of environmental pollution,” he continued.
“We believe, in fact, that there is a link between environmental pollution and the onset of cancer. For many years, many have denied this; however, the National Institute of Health conducted a study commissioned by the Naples North District Attorney’s Office on children who died of cancer and acknowledged that there is a causal link between pollution and the high rate of infant mortality.”
The European Court of Human Rights found last year that Italian authorities had been aware since 1988 of the toxic contamination driven by the Camorra mafia organization, which controls waste disposal in the region, but failed to take adequate steps to protect residents, according to the Associated Press.
The court ruled that Italy has two years to establish a database documenting the toxic waste and its verified health risks for an area covering 90 municipalities around Naples and Caserta with a population of 2.9 million people.
Marks ‘Laudato Si” anniversary
The pope’s visit to Acerra falls on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis signing his landmark ecological encyclical “Laudato Si’.” Pope Francis had planned to visit the area in 2020, but the trip was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As you know, Pope Francis had hoped to come here,” Pope Leo said. “Today we intend to fulfil his wish, recognizing the great gift that the encyclical Laudato Si’ has been for the Church’s mission in this land,” where “the cry of creation and of the poor amongst you has been felt all the more dramatically.”
Later, in the city’s Piazza Calipari, Pope Leo addressed a large crowd of local Catholics and civic leaders, including the mayors of the affected communities. Under the hot sun, people in the crowd wearing yellow hats waved Vatican flags to greet the pope.
“The common good comes before the business interests of a few, before partisan interests, whether small or large,” the pope said. “This land has paid a heavy price, has buried so many of its children, has witnessed the suffering of children and the innocent.”
‘Let each of us take responsibility’
Leo urged people to be courageous and not give into fatalism or resignation.
“Fatalism, lamentation, and shifting the blame onto others are the breeding ground for lawlessness and a beginning of the desertification of consciences,” he said. “Let each of us take responsibility, let us choose justice, let us serve life.”
The pope arrived by helicopter from Vatican City in the morning and returned in the early afternoon after greeting people along the route of his popemobile.
The Acerra visit is the first in a series of domestic pastoral trips Pope Leo has planned across Italy in the coming months. He is scheduled to travel to Pavia in June to pray at the tomb of St. Augustine, and on July 4 will visit the island of Lampedusa to meet with migrants.
Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.
