Pope Francis wearing an indigenous headdress given to him by Ubirai Matos from the Pataxo Tribe after his speech in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo by EPA/Osservatore Romano

Pope Francis called on Catholics to respect the Amazon rainforest during a visit to Brazil over the weekend.

Francis, who is from neighboring Argentina, said the environment should not be "indiscriminately exploited," the Associated Press reported. He cited a 2007 document, which he helped draft, that said indigenous people were being left out of decisions affecting their traditional lands.

"The traditional communities have been practically excluded from decisions on the wealth of biodiversity and nature. Nature has been, and continues to be, assaulted. The land has been plundered. Water is being treated as though it were merchandise that could be traded by companies, and has been transformed into a good for which powerful nations compete. A major example of this situation is the Amazon," the document stated.

Tribal members from the Amazon attended one of the pope's speeches in Rio de Janeiro. Ubirai Matos, from the Pataxo Tribe, took off his headdress and handed it to the the pontiff, who put it on.

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Pope speaks out on Amazon, environment during Brazil trip; Dons Indian headdress (AP 7/27)
Pope Francis dons feather Indian headdress to delight of crowd after delivering speech (AP 7/270