 61-year Rule of the Colorados EndsThe disputed election of a renegade bishop as President of Paraguay ends the reign of the longest-serving ruling party in the Americas.
The Colorado Party has conceded defeat in the election for president of Paraguay, ending the conservative party’s historic 61-year hold on power in the republic. The Colorado candidate, Blanca Olivar, won only 30.72% of the vote compared to 40.82% for the renegade ex-bishop Fernando Lugo, a Socialist and follower of “liberation theology” who has been suspended from his episcopal duties by the Pope.
But though it is certain that Lugo won the vote, the Constitution of Paraguay bans clergy from election to the presidency. While Pope Benedict XVI has suspended Lugo from his episcopal and priestly tasks, the Pope has turned down the renegade bishop’s request for laicization, or removal from the priesthood. Lugo is a known ally of President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, whom many see as the inheritor of Fidel Castro’s legacy. The Colorado Party was founded in 1887 by General Bernardino Caballero, the descendant of both Spanish nobility and an Incan emperor who served as President of Paraguay from 1880 to 1886. After ruling in a coalition in 1946, the Colorado Party banned all other political parties and turned Paraguay into a one-party state from 1947 to 1962. It served as one of the two pillars (the other being the military) of the regime of the late General Alfredo Stroessner, who ruled as President from 1954 to 1989. — Andrew Cusack
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News of the WorldAUSTRALIAYoung Catholics yearn for traditionSYDNEY - As pilgrims from across the world gather for World Youth Day, more and more young people are seeking to return to more traditional Catholic Latin masses. The Juventutem movement has been quietly gathering momentum in Australia and around the world since the Pope last year recommended that all parishes offer a traditional Latin service alongside the English mass.
QUEBECJudge overrules father’s discipline of unruly childGATINEAU - A judge has overruled a father’s refusal to allow his 12-year-old daughter go on a school trip in punishment for her unruly behavior.
ALBERTATribunal orders evangelical pastor to cease preachingCALGARY - The Alberta Human Rights Tribunal has forbidden evangelical pastor Stephen Boisson from expressing his moral opposition to homosexuality and ordered him to pay $5,000 “damages for pain and suffering” and apologize to the activist who filed the complaint.
CHILEConstitutional Court outlaws morning-after pillSANTIAGO - The Constitutional Court of Chile has voted 5-4 to outlaw the distribution of the morning after pill. The final text of the ruling has yet to be released, as the justices are wrapping up their opinions.
SOUTH AMERICANewspaper: Virgin Mary Prevented Colombia WarBOGOTÁ - The Colombian daily El Tiempo has reported that the high tensions between Colombia on the one side and Venezuela and Ecuador on the other de-escalated after President Uribe of Colombia had a rosary said in the chapel of the Presidential Palace. The prayer specifically implored the protection of Mary as patroness of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.
AUSTRIAPoll: Austrians desire EU treaty referendumVIENNA - Sixty percent of Austrians want a referendum on the new EU constitutional treaty according to an OGM poll. 85 percent believe they have not been properly informed about the treaty. 47 percent expressed dissatisfaction with the EU, compared to the 44 percent who are happy with the EU.
ARGENTINAShrub fires choke Buenos AiresBUENOS AIRES - The Argentine capital has been smoke-laden for nearly a week due to intentional fires started by farmers to clear shrubland north of the city.
Around the Sphere‘A Sexual Revolution’Jennifer Fulwiler writes of her journey from pro-choice atheist to pro-life Catholic in America magazine.
The BNP’s rise and New Labour’s demise are linkedThe growing success of the British National Party is not due to disaffected Conservative Party supporters but rather Labourites discontented with their party’s leadership, Gary Younge explains at The Guardian.
Zimbabwe & the U.N. CharterThe Russian ambassador slammed the proposed sanctions against Zimbabwe as “is nothing but the council’s attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of a member state” and, as Daniel Larison points out at Eunomia, he is right.
A History of Political TrialsNot a single head of state who has faced trial for his political actions has ever been acquitted, writes John Laughland introducing his new book, A History of Political Trials from Charles I to Saddam Hussein, over on Brussels Journal.
Was World War II just as pointless as Iraq? It makes me feel like a traitor to write this. The Second World War was my religion for most of my life. Brave, alone, bombed, defiant, we, the British, had won it on our own against the most evil and powerful enemy imaginable, writes Peter Hitchens at The Mail on Sunday.
Whatever happened to the good old working man?He got rubbed out of history as being no longer desirable or fashionable to the modern world. And who rubbed him out? His supposed best “comrade”, the Socialist Left - that’s who! So writes Tribunus at Roman Christendom.
Political mythsThe Republicans (and the Democrats) have made the great error of believing their own propaganda, as well as relying on stereotype in stead of reality, writes Daniel Larison at Eunomia.
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