Vatican City: The Vatican has spoken out against an American pastor's plan to burn copies of the Quran to commemorate the September 11, 2001, terror attack, calling it "an outrageous and grave gesture".
"These deplorable acts of violence, in fact, cannot be counter-acted by an outrageous and grave gesture against a book considered sacred by a religious community," the Vatican said in a statement.
"Each religion, with its respective sacred books, places of worship and symbols, has the right to respect and protection," it said.
Terry Jones, pastor at the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, and author of a book titled "Islam is the Devil" plans to mark the 9/11 attack by burning copies of the Quran at his church Saturday.
Jones' plans have sparked off demonstrations in Afghanistan and Indonesia.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday called the planned burning "disrespectful" and "disgraceful" and Gen. David Petraeus, the top US military commander in Afghanistan, warned that the act would create a backlash and put American troops at risk of retaliation.
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