Catholic Cardinal Likens Abortion to Sept. 11

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A leading Vatican cardinal compared abortion, euthanasia and genetic experiments to the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, saying Tuesday they all showed contempt for life

In a message to Buddhists, Cardinal Francis Arinze urged the two religions to work together to ensure life was protected from the moment of conception to natural death.

"How can we not make a correlation between this culture of death in which the most innocent, defenseless, and critically ill human lives are threatened with death and terrorist attacks, such as those of September 11, in which thousands of innocent people were slaughtered?" Arinze said.

Arinze, who heads the Vatican's department for inter-religious dialogue, condemned the advanced technology and laws that were making abortion, euthanasia and genetic experiments available in a growing number of countries.

The Nigerian cardinal wrote to Buddhists to commemorate their religious feast of Vesakh.

"It is precisely on this common respect for human beings that we Christians and Buddhists should build a culture of life, in which the right to life is fully protected from conception until natural death," Arinze said.