Italian Justice Minister Guido Gonella told representatives of the Jewish community here that the government would like to change the law to put Jews and members of other faiths on the same level as Roman Catholics.
Gonella, himself a practicing Roman Catholic who used to write for the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, said the government proposes to modify certain articles of the penal code, bringing into line sentences for offending any religion.
At present, Roman Catholicism enjoys a privileged status in Italian society, partly as a result of the 1929 church-state concordat. Gonella said in a speech to members of the Jewish community that at present the penal code, with respect to religion, “is based on discriminations which are not reconcilable with the equality and liberty proclaimed by our constitution.”
The Joint Distribution Committee will provide $2,950,000 during 1973 toward the overseas vocational training programs of ORT, the Organization for Rehabilitation through Training, it was announced by Samuel L. Haber, JDC executive vice-chairman. The 1973 allocation, an increase of $100,000 over last year, will help finance technical education, youth welfare, and economic rehabilitation services of ORT in Israel. Europe. North Africa, Iran and India. Haber said.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
