Populist Bishop Elected President

Torres, Gustavo, National Catholic Reporter

Fernando Lugo won the presidency of Paraguay April 20 and made history twice.

Running for the Patriotic Alliance for Change, a coalition of nine opposition parties, Lugo broke 61 years of uninterrupted rule by the conservative Colorado Party.

And he did it as a retired Catholic bishop whom the Vatican has refused to laicize.

Lugo, 58, retired from the San Pedro diocese in 2005 after more than 30 years as a bishop and priest. The Vatican suspended him from exercising his priestly ministry when he decided to run for president, but rejected his request for laicization.

Activism runs in Lugo's veins. His father was arrested 20 times under the regime of former dictator Alfredo Stroessner, and three of his four brothers were expelled from the country.

In 1996, Lugo hosted a …

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Publication information: Article title: Populist Bishop Elected President. Contributors: Torres, Gustavo - Author. Magazine title: National Catholic Reporter. Volume: 44. Issue: 19 Publication date: May 16, 2008. Page number: 12. © 2009 National Catholic Reporter. COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale Group.

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