ROME — Pope Francis called for nature to be protected from criminal abuse on Saturday during a visit in the southern Italian town of Caserta, near Naples, in a region long blighted by illegal toxic waste dumps and the pervasive grip of the Camorra mafia.
During a televised open air mass before around 200,000 people, Francis said that the love of God meant respecting life, the environment and nature. "I know that you suffer for these things," he said during his homily in front of the Reggia di Caserta, the former palace of the old Bourbon kings of Naples.
"It is particularly important in this beautiful region of yours which requires being protected and conserved, it requires us to have the courage to say no to any form of corruption and illegality," he said to applause. "We all know what the name of these forms of corruption and illegality are.”
While less explicit than his fierce attack on the mafia during a visit to Calabria last month, the setting of his words left no doubt of his target. The region has become polluted by uncontrolled dumping and burnoffs of toxic waste that have been blamed for unusually high levels of cancers and other diseases.
IN-DEPTH
- Pope Francis Makes First Visit to Mafia Stronghold in Southern Italy
- Pope to Mafia: Stop the Violence or Go to Hell