Pope sets out on Latin American mission

Pope Benedict set out on his first trip as pontiff to Latin America yesterday saying he wanted to stem the loss of Roman Catholics to other faiths.

Speaking to reporters on the papal plane en route to Brazil, he also said Catholic politicians who support abortion should be excommunicated, reinforcing the Church's hard line in a debate over birth control in a region that is home to nearly half of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.

The 80-year-old Pontiff will spend five days in Brazil, which has the world's largest Catholic population. It is his only destination on this journey.

Although huge crowds are expected to welcome him throughout, the trip is overshadowed by concerns that the Catholic Church is losing its grip in the region.

Tens of millions of Latin Americans have left the Catholic fold to Protestant branches such as Pentecostalism.

The Church's opposition to contraception, abortion rights and sex outside marriage has generated growing doubts among followers and friction with some governments. Pope Benedict said he would raise the defections issue at a conference of Latin American and Caribbean bishops in the town of Aparecida.

"This is our common worry. We need to find a convincing response," he said.

He also warned Catholic politicians that they risked excommunication if they support abortion.

"Selfishness and fear are at the root of (pro-abortion) legislation," he said. "We in the Church have a great struggle to defend life."

The Pope had been asked if he supported a threat by Mexican Church leaders to excommunicate leftist parliamentarians who last month voted to legalize abortion in Mexico City.

He arrives in Brazil to a similar controversy.

On the eve of the visit, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his health minister appeared to take issue with the Church's stance on abortion.

President Lula said the matter should be treated as a public health concern since scores of women die each year in Brazil from clandestine abortions.

Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao, who has called for a national plebiscite to legalize abortion, accused Church groups of stifling debate.