Pope speaks out against abortion in Brazil

By Philip Pullella and Todd Benson

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Pope Benedict delivered a strong anti-abortion message to Brazilians on Wednesday 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.