Pope Leo XIV's visit to Acevera comes on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis' big ecological encyclical. The bishop is expected to meet with families who lost young relatives to cancer, caused by environmental pollution.
Angelo Venturato talks during an interview with the Associated Press next to photos of his daughter Maria who died at the age of 25 of a cancer he claims to be connected to decades of pollution from illegal waste dumping and burning, much of it linked to organized criminal groups, in the southern town of Acerra, Friday, May 22, 2026.
Illegal waste is seen on the side of a road in the outskirts of the southern Italian town of Acerra in the Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, an area scarred by decades of pollution from illegal waste dumping and burning, much of it linked to organized criminal groups, Friday, May 22, 2026, a day ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit.
Acerra bishop Antonio Di Donna speaks during an interview with the Associated Press ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit to the southern Italian town of Acerra in the Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, an area scarred by decades of pollution from illegal waste dumping and burning, much of it linked to organized criminal groups, Friday, May 22, 2026. A man enters a grocery store with posters of Pope Leo XIV ahead of his visit to the southern Italian town of Acerra in the Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, Friday, May 22, 2026.
During his pastoral visit on Saturday, carrying with them years of grief, anger and hopes for justice after losing children to cancer linked to a multi-billion mafia racket of dumping toxic waste. The visit to the so-called Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, comes on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis’ big ecological encyclical Laudato Si (Praised Be), and indicates Leo’s interest in carrying on his predecessor’s environmental agenda.
The European Court of Human Rights last year validated a generation of residents’ 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
Pope Leo XIV Acevera Environmental Pollution Cancer Camorra Crime Syndicate European Court Of Human Rights Mafia Dumping Toxic Waste Laudato Si (Praised Be) 11Th Anniversary Terra Dei Fuochi Camorra Crime Syndicate Environmental Agenda
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