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Catholic Teaching Decree Modified

April 3, 1980
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The protests of the Jewish community and of other religious groups in Argentina all during last year have caused the Argentine government to modify a decree, issued a little over a year ago, that mandated the teaching of Catholic religious values and attitudes in secondary schools, according to Jacob Kovodloff, director of the South American office of the American Jewish Committee, and a native Argentinean.

As a result of their combined efforts, he said, the prescribed course, called “Moral and Civic Education,” has been revised to exclude certain “confessional elements” and to include the books by noted Jewish philosophers and political scientists.

Another favorable development, Kovodloff reported, was an Argentine government decision to conduct dialogues with representatives of all faiths and political parties on subjects of national interest. This dialogue process, which will include the Jewish community, was announced by Interior Minister General Albano Harguindeguy last month and already has been put into action.

Kovodloff explained that the course was aimed originally at students in the first year of high school. In February, 1980, it was extended to include the second year of high school as well, including private Jewish schools.

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