Pope Leo decries 'dizzying' profits earned by companies that pollute | ABS-CBN News

Pope Leo on Saturday (May 23) called out companies who seek "dizzying" profits at the cost of environmental pollution, on a visit to an area in Italy known as a hotbed for illegal dumping of toxic waste. On a visit to Acerra, about 220 km (137 miles) south of Rome, the first U.S. pope urged the world to "reject temptations of power and enrichment linked to practices that pollute the land, water, air, and social coexistence." Leo said he wanted to come to the area near Naples known as the "Land of Fires," where the European Court of Human Rights ruled last year that authorities had failed to protect residents from waste dumping since at least 1988, to "gather the tears" of families who had lost loved ones to related illnesses. Arriving by popemobile in an outside square on a sunny spring day, Leo was greeted by people waving small yellow and white Vatican flags and wearing yellow hats, some holding up posterboards with pictures of family members who had died. Leo, who in recent months has been speaking more forcefully and will issue his first major document on Monday, said "unscrupulous people and organizations have been allowed to act with impunity for too long." During his four-hour visit to Acerra, he also referred to "the dizzying profits of a few, blind to the needs of people, their work and their future." He also met with victims. Leo will issue his first encyclical, a major text, to the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, on Monday. It is expected to address the rise of AI and how the technology is being used in warfare and challenging workers' rights. (Production: Claudia Chieppa) For more ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmgy6PGn5--qRRixkhltg5hE For more Breaking News & Live Coverage videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmgG2ln-vtKXb-oLlGEZc3sR For more latest news and analysis from ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmi0mC2kpnrqezd94AAI8jDH For more News Digital News Raw Cuts, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmiOw9mcoSbzoyp25AAZAAdn Subscribe to the ABS-CBN News channel! - http://bit.ly/TheABSCBNNews Watch full episodes on iWant for FREE here: http://iwanttfc.com Visit our website at http://news.abs-cbn.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS Twitter: https://twitter.com/abscbnnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abscbnnews #PopeLeoXIV #LatestNews #ABSCBNNews