The Vatican condemned a Florida pastor’s plan to burn Korans on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, calling it an “outrageous and grave gesture.”

The terrorist attacks “cannot be counteracted by an outrageous and grave gesture against a book considered sacred by a religious community,” the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue said today in an e-mailed statement. Every religion “has the right to respect and protection.”

Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, told CNN yesterday that he’s “weighing” what to do after U.S. General David Petraeus, commander of international coalition forces in Afghanistan, warned the event would endanger U.S. troops. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs yesterday echoed the general’s warning, saying the Koran burning would put U.S. troops “in harm’s way.”