Ex-bishop's candidacy divides Paraguayan Catholics

By Daniela Desantis

ASUNCION (Reuters Life!) - A Roman Catholic bishop who shed his cassock to run for Paraguay's presidency has polarized the Church, with some backing him as a force for change and others saying he violated age-old doctrine.

Fernando Lugo is leading the polls ahead of an April 2008 vote in Paraguay, a landlocked South American country of 5.6 million people, which is one of the region's poorest.

Lugo stepped down as bishop last year and the Vatican suspended him, but he remains a priest under Canon law because the Catholic Church views ordination as a lifelong sacrament.

"Within the Church, there was a mixed reaction to Lugo's foray into the political arena," said Enrique Caceres, assistant dean at the Catholic University in Asuncion.

"On the one hand, an important group of Catholics accepts him and hopes he will bring about long-awaited change, while others believe this is not a pastor's role," he said.

Paraguay's constitution bars religious leaders from running for president, and members of the ruling Colorado Party once threatened to challenge Lugo's candidacy on the grounds that he was still a priest.

The Catholic Church is seen as one of the most trustworthy institutions in Paraguay, where corruption is rampant.

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