The adoption today by the Italian Constitutional Assembly of the Concordat and Lateran Pacts, establishing Catholicism as the state religion is expected to have an adverse effect on the development of Jewish education and culture in Italy.
The Pacts, originally signed by Mussolini and the Vatican in 1929, provide among other matters, that the Catholic doctrine be taught in the public school system and that Catholic schools receive state financial support. They specifically bar other religious groups from receiving financial assistance. The Pacts, which now are law, prohibit any teachings in opposition to Catholic doctrine and make public attacks on these principles a punishable offense.
Last week a Jewish and Protestant delegation called on the president and a number of cabinet officials to protest compulsory Catholic education and refusal to aid educational facilities maintained by minority religious groups. It also asked full equality of rights for all minorities. Although the Jews and Protestants will be permitted to maintain their own schools, neither group has the means to operate an adequate school system. The delegation included Dr. Raffacle Cantoni, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, and representatives of the Evangelical Churches and the Waldensian Church.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
