Pope Francis has expressed concern about the fires that are devastating the Amazon forest, which he called "a vital lung for the planet," according to world agencies.

"We are concerned about the great fires that have spread and spread in the Amazon. This forest lung is vital to our planet," the pope told the crowd gathered at the traditional Sunday prayer at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.

The Pope will host a major Amazon conference in the fall. He called on the 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide to pray for the fires to be extinguished as soon as possible.

Last January, Pope Francis visited the village of Puerto Maldonado in southeastern Peru, which is surrounded by the Amazon forest. 
The Amazon extends to nine of the 12 countries in South America, first in Brazil (67 percent), Bolivia (11 percent) and Peru (13 percent). It contains 20 percent of the planet's freshwater, 34 percent of the primeval forests, and between 30 and 50 percent of the world's flora and fauna.

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