Overview
- Pope Leone XIV traveled to Acerra to meet families of victims and to listen to personal accounts of illness and loss linked to the Terra dei Fuochi.
- In a Cattedrale address the pope said he came “to gather the tears” of those who lost loved ones and explicitly blamed “people and organisations without scruples” for long-standing pollution and impunity.
- Local church leaders used the visit to demand sustained bonifiche (remediation), tighter controls on illegal dumping and roghi tossici (toxic burns), and stronger public-health monitoring.
- The visit on Saturday, May 23, 2026, drew thousands to Acerra and renewed political visibility for EU, national and regional programs that have been announced but unevenly implemented.
- Decades of reporting and judicial probes link the waste crisis to camorra-run trafficking, complicit industrial actors and institutional omissions, leaving long-term cleanup and accountability as the key next steps for residents’ health and recovery.