Pope Francisco called for more respect for nature on Saturday, calling the destruction of tropical forests in South America and other forms of environmental exploitation as sins of modern times. In a speech at the University of Molise, an agricultural and industrial region in southern Italy, Francisco said he should be allowed to offer off the Earth without being exploited. "This is one of the greatest challenges of our time: go to a type of development that respects creation," he told the students, farmers and workers in the lobby of the university. "When I look at America, also my homeland (South America), many are now cleared forest land ... that they can not give life.