26 August
Pope Francis has called for efforts to extinguish the fires consuming the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.
A record number of forest fires are raging in the Amazon. French President Emmanuel Macron has taken up the issue at the G7 summit amid mounting international calls for effective firefighting measures.
In his Sunday address in the Vatican, Pope Francis told thousands of people that "we're all worried" about the Amazon fires.
He urged the crowd to pray so that "they are controlled as quickly as possible."
The Amazon rainforest releases oxygen and absorbs carbon dioxide.
The pope stressed the importance of the forest, saying that green "lung of forest is vital for our planet."
Brazil, home to more than two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest, has the largest Catholic population in the world.
Some members of the crowd listening to Pope Francis were seen holding Brazilian flags.
NHK
