Pope Leo Visits Acerra, Italy, Condemns Companies’ Dizzying Profits From Toxic Waste Dumping

Pope Leo visited Acerra, Italy, on Saturday (May 23) to denounce companies that seek "dizzying" profits at the cost of environmental pollution in an area known as a hotbed for illegal dumping of toxic waste.

“Pope Leo on May 23 criticized companies pursuing "dizzying" profits at the expense of environmental destruction during a visit to Acerra, in southern Italy, an area long associated with illegal toxic waste dumping”

Caliber.Az

The Reuters-linked report says Leo urged people to "reject the temptations of power and enrichment linked to practices that pollute the land, water, air, and social coexistence."

Cyprus Inform

Leo said he wanted to come to the area near Naples known as the "Land of Fires" to "gather the tears" of families who had lost loved ones to related illnesses.

During a four-hour visit, he said "unscrupulous people and organizations have been allowed to act with impunity for too long" and met with victims.

He arrived by popemobile in an outside square, where people waved small yellow and white Vatican flags and wore yellow hats, with some holding posterboards with pictures of family members who had died.

The visit focused on a region near Naples where the European Court of Human Rights found in January 2025 that Italian authorities had repeatedly failed to act to stop illegal dumping, with the court pointing to abnormally high rates of cancer among local residents.

The court gave the Italian government two years to establish a comprehensive database of toxic waste sites and communicate the risks to the public, according to the Cyprus Inform report.

Minute Mirror

In February 2025, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appointed an Italian general to head a task force aimed at helping victims and pursuing environmental clean-up.

The Straits Times report says Pope Leo will issue his first encyclical on May 25, and it is expected to address the rise of AI and how the technology is being used in warfare and challenging workers’ rights.

The Reuters-linked coverage also ties Leo’s message to the region’s long-running waste system, where collection, treatment and disposal of garbage in southern Italy was largely in the hands of a small group of private owners, with contracts sometimes tied to the Camorra.

Multiple outlets describe Leo’s condemnation of corporate behavior during his four-hour visit, including his reference to "the dizzying profits of a few, blind to the needs of people, their work and their future."

“Summary - The Pope said the world is already facing serious environmental problems, and pollution is making things worse every day”

Minute Mirror

The Independent says Leo urged the world to "reject temptations of power and enrichment linked to practices that pollute the land, water, air, and social coexistence" during his trip to Acerra, about 220 kilometres south of Rome.

The Independent also reports that Leo said he wanted to visit to "gather the tears" of families who had lost loved ones to related illnesses.

Beyond the immediate remarks, the coverage frames the encyclical as a major text for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, expected on Monday, and it is anticipated to address the rise of artificial intelligence and its implications for warfare and workers’ rights.

In the same Reuters-linked reporting, the region’s waste dumping is described as having contracts sometimes tied to the Camorra, a Naples-based mafia group, while Leo met with victims during his visit.