Paraguay president fathered child while bishop

By Daniela Desantis

ASUNCION (Reuters) - Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo admitted on Monday he fathered a child when he was still a Roman Catholic bishop, as the scandal threatened to weaken him politically.

Lugo, a 57-year-old leftist, said in a televised address that he had an affair with a woman who is now 26, and conceded he was the father of her child.

"I assume all responsibilities ... and I recognise paternity," Lugo said.

Lawyers for the baby's mother filed a paternity suit against the president last week, saying that Lugo met and seduced her when she was 16 and then continued a relationship with her. The child, a boy, is almost 2 years old.

The suit kicked up a media storm that has damaged Lugo's image, but the boy's mother later told reporters she had not signed any complaint and had not authorized the lawyers to file it on her behalf.

Lugo won the presidency last April at the head of a coalition that ended more than 60 years of corrupt rule by the Colorado Party in the poor South American country.

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 despite church opposition.

The Vatican at first rejected his petition for layman's status, suspending him from priestly duties but saying he was still a bishop since his ordination was a lifelong sacrament.