ASUNCION, Paraguay — President Fernando Lugo admitted Monday that he is the father of a child conceived while he was a Roman Catholic bishop.
Lugo surprised journalists by acknowledging he had an intimate relationship with Viviana Carrillo, just five days after lawyers for Carrillo announced they were filing a paternity suit against him.
“I assume all responsibilities . . . and recognize the paternity of the child,” he said.
Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank, said Lugo’s paternity concession was a savvy political move.
“Generally speaking, people get more in trouble from lying about what they’ve done than actually what they’ve done,” Hakim said.
Lugo, 57, resigned in 2004 as bishop of San Pedro. But it wasn’t until July 31 of last year that the pope gave him permission to resign, relieving him of his chastity vows; the Vatican had insisted that Lugo would always be a bishop under church law. The child, a boy, was born in May 2007.
