Colombia: Qualification No. I

High Colombian government officials arefull of public praise for President Kennedy’s Peace Corps, and privatemisgivings that the corps organizers may forget to explore all theangles. Said one: “I think that after your government gives the girlsand boys an examination, we Colombians should give them another. Themost important question for a norteamericano going into the backlandsis: ‘Are you a Roman Catholic?’ In our rural society, the villagepriest commands both the body and soul of the peasants. I’m afraid fornon-Catholics, however noble the U.S.’s purpose.”