Pope Leo XIV: 'A Change in Economic Mentality Will Heal the Planet'

Pope Leo XIV visited the Italian region known as the 'Land of Fires,' an area long contaminated by toxic waste illegally dumped by the mafia, urging a profound transformation of economic paradigms to heal the planet.

Addressing thousands of faithful in Acerra, near Naples, the pontiff declared, "It will be a true change of economic, civil, and even religious mentality that will build the good that will heal this land and the entire planet." The 'Land of Fires' is an area encompassing about 90 towns where the local mafia has buried and burned toxic waste for decades, causing severe environmental damage and health crises.

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It will be a true change of economic, civil, and even religious mentality that will build the good that will heal this land and the entire planet.

Following in the footsteps of Pope Francis and citing his environmental encyclical 'Laudato Si,' Leo XIV met with victims' families and the sick before addressing civil authorities. He condemned an individualistic, "technocratic" economic model that hoards natural resources and benefits a select few. "That paradigm still presents itself as victorious today: it is at the root of the multiplication of conflicts, behind which lies the race for resource hoarding; we see it resist every time those in political positions are too weak against the powerful," he lamented.

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That paradigm still presents itself as victorious today: it is at the root of the multiplication of conflicts, behind which lies the race for resource hoarding; we see it resist every time those in political positions are too weak against the powerful.

The Pope also criticized a development model driven by "the dizzying profits of a few" that is blind to people, their work, and their future. He called for a pact among individuals, institutions, and organizations to implement this "change of mentality" and limit the current economic system. He urged people not to fall into discouragement or resignation, emphasizing the need to protect creation as diligently as one guards their home.

Leo XIV envisioned the gradual but swift creation of "a less consumerist system." He questioned the current growth model, stating, "How much waste, how much waste, how much poison has arisen from a growth model that has, as it were, bewitched us, leaving us sicker and poorer. Let us learn, then, to be rich in another way." The Bishop of Acerra, Antonio Di Donna, had previously informed the Pope about the scale of the environmental drama plaguing the region since the 1980s, when industrial waste from northern Italy began to be dumped there.

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How much waste, how much waste, how much poison has arisen from a growth model that has, as it were, bewitched us, leaving us sicker and poorer. Let us learn, then, to be rich in another way.