ACERRA, Italy (AP) — Families living in a toxic-waste polluted area around Naples were preparing to meet Pope Leo XIV during his pastoral visit on Saturday, carrying with them years of grief, anger and hopes for justice after losing children to cancer linked to a multi-billion mafia racket of dumping toxic waste.

The visit to the so-called Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, comes on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis’ big ecological encyclical Laudato Si (Praised Be), and indicates Leo’s interest in carrying on his predecessor’s environmental agenda.

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