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SAN SALVADOR (AP) El Salvador's president says the country will award its highest honor to six Jesuit priests murdered by the Army in 1989.

President Mauricio Funes says the National Order of Jose Matias Delgado awards are a "public act of atonement" for mistakes by past governments.

They will be presented on Nov. 16 to mark the date 20 years ago when soldiers killed Spanish-born university rector Ignacio Ellacuria, five other Jesuits, a housekeeper and her daughter.

The killings sparked international outrage and tarnished the image of U.S. anti-communism efforts after it was found that some of the soldiers involved received training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Funes made the announcement on Tuesday.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-03-09 1456CST | save this article / add to your favorites list