Public and private ethics
I guess you've all seen the recent stories about Paraguayan president Lugo, who quit being a Catholic bishop to run for that political office, and who has been hit with a paternity suit. I probably wouldn't post something about this except that I had posted a couple of times earlier about Lugo, praising him for his liberation theology stance, and now I feel pretty disillusioned about him. Here's a bit from the news story, Paraguayan president's affair: She was 16 and he was a Catholic bishop ...
Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo admitted Monday that he's the father of a 2-year-old boy who was conceived when Lugo was still a Catholic bishop.
Lugo made the surprise announcement five days after the boy's mother, Viviana Carrillo, filed a paternity suit against him that contained more than just the explosive claim about the father's identity.
In it, the 26-year-old Carrillo said they began having sexual relations when she was 16. As bishop of San Pedro, Lugo sometimes stayed at the rural home of her godmother, where Carrillo also lived, she said.
McClatchy Newspapers obtained a copy of the nine-page paternity suit on Monday.
Carrillo said that she first met Lugo when she was studying in preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation in her church, and that their personal relationship began one night shortly thereafter.
She said she'd just brought bed sheets to his room at her godmother's house and then asked him if he needed anything else.
"He told me yes," Carrillo wrote, "that he needed me."
Carrillo said Lugo began to pursue her "until, because of my youth and inexperience, I was seduced by the way he talked, his pretty words, his beautiful expressions and by his promises that he would resign his position for me, that he would spend his life with me, that we would have many children together and form a household."
She said that Lugo had been "my first and only man."
Reaction to the disclosure is divided.
Alfredo Boccia, a political columnist for the Paraguayan newspaper Ultima Hora, said by telephone from the capital of Asuncion that most people there would take the news in stride.
"He did the smartest thing he could have done," Boccia said. "He nipped the scandal in the bud. People are more lax in their attitudes here. It shouldn't hurt his personal image much."
That view was shared by Pastor Vera, the mayor of San Pedro, an impoverished city with dirt streets in south central Paraguay, where Lugo served as the bishop until 2004.
"Most people will see it as a private affair," Vera said by telephone. "What's important is that he assumed his responsibility." ....
I guess I don't understand how people manage to compartmentalize their ethics so that as long as they are stand-up guys in the public square, it doesn't matter how they deal with people privately. What bothers me is not that Lugo had a relationship, but that he had one with a minor, and then lied about it (he denied rumors about this during the election) until his partner filed a paternity suit.
Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo admitted Monday that he's the father of a 2-year-old boy who was conceived when Lugo was still a Catholic bishop.
Lugo made the surprise announcement five days after the boy's mother, Viviana Carrillo, filed a paternity suit against him that contained more than just the explosive claim about the father's identity.
In it, the 26-year-old Carrillo said they began having sexual relations when she was 16. As bishop of San Pedro, Lugo sometimes stayed at the rural home of her godmother, where Carrillo also lived, she said.
McClatchy Newspapers obtained a copy of the nine-page paternity suit on Monday.
Carrillo said that she first met Lugo when she was studying in preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation in her church, and that their personal relationship began one night shortly thereafter.
She said she'd just brought bed sheets to his room at her godmother's house and then asked him if he needed anything else.
"He told me yes," Carrillo wrote, "that he needed me."
Carrillo said Lugo began to pursue her "until, because of my youth and inexperience, I was seduced by the way he talked, his pretty words, his beautiful expressions and by his promises that he would resign his position for me, that he would spend his life with me, that we would have many children together and form a household."
She said that Lugo had been "my first and only man."
Reaction to the disclosure is divided.
Alfredo Boccia, a political columnist for the Paraguayan newspaper Ultima Hora, said by telephone from the capital of Asuncion that most people there would take the news in stride.
"He did the smartest thing he could have done," Boccia said. "He nipped the scandal in the bud. People are more lax in their attitudes here. It shouldn't hurt his personal image much."
That view was shared by Pastor Vera, the mayor of San Pedro, an impoverished city with dirt streets in south central Paraguay, where Lugo served as the bishop until 2004.
"Most people will see it as a private affair," Vera said by telephone. "What's important is that he assumed his responsibility." ....
I guess I don't understand how people manage to compartmentalize their ethics so that as long as they are stand-up guys in the public square, it doesn't matter how they deal with people privately. What bothers me is not that Lugo had a relationship, but that he had one with a minor, and then lied about it (he denied rumors about this during the election) until his partner filed a paternity suit.
posted by crystal | 1:49 PM
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