00:00Pope Leo XIV arrived in the southern Italian town of Acera on Saturday to offer comfort to a region scarred
00:06by decades of environmental crime.
00:09Arriving on a pastoral visit to the notorious Terra dei Fauci, or Land of Fires,
00:14the pontiff met relatives of those who lost their lives to toxic waste pollution.
00:19Inside Acera Cathedral, the Pope delivered a searing denunciation of the criminal activity
00:24and the systemic indifference that allowed illegal dumping to flourish.
00:30He urged society to break the entire chain of corruption and warned against the dangers of resignation, calling for a
00:35profound cultural shift.
00:37Moving outside to address thousands of faithful and 90 regional mayors gathered in Piazza Calipari,
00:43the Pope contrasted the region's ancient fertility with its current ecological devastation.
00:49He concluded his address with a prayer for civic redemption,
00:52calling on local leaders to transform the destructive blazes of toxic waste into a renewal of care and love for
01:00the land.
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