Pope decries ‘unscrupulous’ polluters at deadly, mafia-linked dumping ground | Italy
Pope Leo met with Italian families whose loved ones had died or developed cancer as a result of illegal toxic waste dumping linked to a multi-billion-euro crime racket run by the mafia.
Leo’s visit Terra dei Fuochi, The Land of Fire near Naples took place on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis’ great ecological encyclical. Laudato Si (It has been praised) and shows Leo’s determination to continue his predecessor’s environmental agenda.
“Above all, I have come to collect the tears of those who lost their loved ones and died due to environmental pollution caused by unscrupulous individuals and organizations that were able to act with impunity for too long,” Leo said in his speech to family members and clergy at the Acerra cathedral. he said.
The Pope reminded that the region was once called “”.Campania Felix”, Latin for fertile or fertile countryside, “has the ability to captivate like a hymn to life with its fertility, products and culture. But still, here is the death of lands and people.”
Last year the European court of human rights confirmed complaints from a generation of residents in 90 municipalities around Caserta and Naples, with a population of 2.9 million, that the mafia dumped, buried and burned toxic waste, leading to rising rates of cancer and other ailments.
The court found that Italian authorities had been aware of the pollution since 1988, blaming the Camorra criminal organization that controlled the disposal of the waste, but failed to take the necessary steps to protect residents. The binding decision gave Italy two years to create a database on toxic waste and the confirmed health risks of living there.
In his opening remarks, local bishop Antonio Di Donna estimated that 150 young people had died in the last three decades in the city of approximately 58,000 people, emphasizing that this number did not include adults or victims from other municipalities.
Noting that it was reported that tons of toxic waste were dumped near Caserta the day before, he called on the pope to warn those who continue to pollute. Italian authorities have identified dozens of similar sites across the country, including the leaching of persistent chemicals (Pfas) into groundwater near Venice’s Marghera port and Vicenza, Di Donna said.
“To our brothers and sisters who are ensnared in evil and caught in the mirage of glorious gain, we say: convert, change your ways, for what you have done is not just a crime, but a sin crying out to God for vengeance,” the bishop said. he said.
The Pope then greeted the mayors of 90 communities affected by toxic waste, and thousands of people waved yellow flags and chanted “Pope Leone”Along the route of his mobile vehicle and in a central square.
Angelo Venturato, whose daughter Maria died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 25, said he hoped to speak to the pope the day before his visit to tell the truth “not for me… but for the next generation.”
“I want to give these young people a future, and I ask the Pope for help in this regard. I make a strong appeal to him, asking him to go to those in power and say, ‘Look, let’s heal this land of fire,'” he said.
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.
“I’m angry at people poisoning the land because what do our children have to do with it? What do they have to do with it when they’re so young?” Carolla said Friday.
Francis’ plans to visit the region in 2020 were canceled due to the Covid pandemic.
