Shafaqna English– During a visit on Saturday(23 May 2026) to an Italian region notorious for being a hub of illegal toxic waste dumping, Pope Leo condemned companies that pursue “dizzying” profits at the expense of polluting the environment.
Pope Leo, while visiting Acerra, about 220 km (137 miles) south of Rome, urged the global community to “reject temptations of power and enrichment associated with practices that pollute the land, water, air, and social harmony.”
The Pope explained that he wanted to visit the “Land of Fires,” an area near Naples. The European Court of Human Rights ruled last year that authorities there had failed to safeguard residents from waste dumping since at least 1988. Leo said he came to “gather the tears” of families who had lost loved ones to illnesses caused by the dumping.
Source: Reuters