MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguayan president gives his name to love-child

Viviana Carrillo, will receive part of Lugo's salary

The mother of the two year old child fathered by Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo confirmed she had desisted of the demand following the former Catholic bishop paternity admission and promise to give him his name.

Viviana Carrillo, the young mother who has rocked Paraguay public opinion since last week said the solicitors has presented a desistence request at the same court where the original paternity demand was registered.

Over the weekend Viviana, 26, had denied the alleged paternity demand against President Lugo, but on Monday the President on a national television admitted he was the father of the child and assumed full responsibility.

The president’s legal representative Marcos Fariña said Mr. Lugo would proceed to register the child, Guillermo Armindo, with his name. He also anticipated that the President would request a partial restitution of his salary, which he donated entirely to the Indigenous Institute, to pay for the child and mother’s maintenance.

Meantime the Catholic bishops convened on the capital Asunción to draft an official statement on what has been described as the “Lugo case”.

“Most bishops and priests support celibacy and we keep to that discipline”, said Bishop Ignacio Gogorza.

Monsignor Pastor Cuquejo, president of the Episcopal Conference said that the conduct of Lugo, “having love relations with a young girl while still a bishop, for the church can only be interpreted as a slap in the face. The risk is that with this conduct, the moral authority of the Church could be eroded”, he underlined.

However Gogorza pointed out that the Catholic Church can’t do much about the case “because Lugo today has a layman status and does not belong to the hierarchy”.

First Lady, Mercedes Lugo, the president’s sister called for respect for the child’s privacy and for her brother “who is a very good man”.

“I think we must respect the privacy of my brother and of the person with whom he allegedly had relations” said Ña Meche, as she is known in Paraguay.

“Many times we make judgements on people and I wish not be susceptible about the issue”, said Mercedes Lugo admitting she did not know Viviana Carrillo “but I know my brother and I have the utmost respect for him”.

Finally Ms Lugo appealed to the Bible recalling “we are all humans and whoever has not committed a sin in a lifetime” let him step forward, according to Asunción daily Ultimas Noticias.

Lugo won the presidency last April at the head of a catch-all coalition ending more than 60 years of a hegemonic one-party rule in poor landlocked Paraguay. He took office last August. Previously he had served as a bishop for 10 years in the impoverished region of San Pedro and shed his cassock in late 2006 to launch his political career.

According to the lawsuit, Lugo and the mother of the child met when he was bishop in San Pedro and stayed overnight at the house of Ms Carrillo’s godmother.