“Pope Leo XIV has greeted families who lost loved ones to illegal toxic dumping in an area near Naples”

“Leo’s visit to the so-called Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, came on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis’ big ecological encyclical Laudato Si (Praised Be)”

“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.”

“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.”

“Italian officials had identified dozens more such contaminated sites throughout the country, including the Venetian port of Marghera, and the leaching of forever chemicals (Pfas) into groundwater near Vicenza.”