KEY POINTS:
SAO PAULO - Pope Benedict delivered a strong anti-abortion message to Brazilians today at the start of his first visit to Latin America, saying that respect for life begins "from the moment of conception".
He laid down Vatican law against abortion as Brazil's government and the church hierarchy
in the world's most populous Roman Catholic country clashed on the issue.
"I am well aware that the soul of this people, as of all Latin America, safeguards values that are radically Christian," the Pope said in a speech on his arrival in Sao Paulo.
"This identity will be reinforced through the promotion of respect for life from the moment of conception until natural death as an integral requirement of human nature".
Flag-waving crowds, undeterred by rain showers, lined Sao Paulo streets to watch the 80-year-old Pope travel in the Popemobile to the Sao Bento Monastery, where several thousand more people chanting "Long live the Pope" waited to greet him.
But his five-day trip is overshadowed by concerns that the Catholic Church is losing followers in Latin America, home to nearly half the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.
Millions have left the Catholic fold to Protestant branches such as Pentecostalism.
The Church's opposition to contraception, abortion rights and sex outside marriage has also generated growing doubts among followers across the region.
Just before the Pope's visit, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government took issue with the Church's stance on abortion.
Lula said it was a public health issue because many Brazilian women die from clandestine abortions. Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao, who wants a plebiscite to legalize abortion, accused Church groups of stifling debate.
That prompted Geraldo Majella, head of Brazil's bishops' council, to accuse the government of promoting promiscuity.
Temporao fired back on Wednesday, saying he wanted women to join in the debate because although men made the laws, it was women who were suffering.
"Unfortunately, men don't get pregnant. If they did, this question would already be resolved," Temporao said.
Pope Benedict is due to give the key note address on Sunday to a conference of Latin American and Caribbean bishops in the town of Aparecida where finding ways to halt the exodus from Catholicism will be a prime task.
Many priests are also waiting for guidance on social action in a continent marked by poverty and deprivation.
The Pope promised in his speech to give priority to the poor, the young and to indigenous peoples. He said earlier that Latin American clergy rightly need to address social justice issues, but should stay out of politics.
Although the Pope has a reputation as a conservative theologian who lacks the charisma of his popular predecessor, Pope John Paul, Catholics from Brazil and other Latin American countries gave him an enthusiastic welcome.
"It's marvellous having the Pope in our country. I hope he can help convert thousands and thousands of young people," said 76-year-old Estelita de Farias Oliveira, who had travelled from outside Sao Paulo to see him when he appeared on the Sao Bento Monastery balcony.
Musician Franco Pietro said he was hoping for a message of love and unity.
"The Church has lost a lot of strength in Brazil, it has lost it to the Evangelical churches and because it is very conservative we are hoping for a renewal of Catholicism that Benedict supports it," he said.
- REUTERS
