Members of minority religious groups are concentrated in the largest cities, including Asunción, Ciudad del Este, and Encarnación.
[1] The Catholic Church maintains an influential role in society; the country observes Christmas, Easter, Virgin of Caacupé Day, and the Founding of Asuncion as holidays.
[4] Jehovah's Witnesses who refused to give permission for blood transfusions reported that authorities challenged their "right to bodily self-determination."
Ten days after their arrest, the Ortegas were released from prison on bail; their case remained under investigation at the end of the period covered by this report.
[1] In May 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that the government's expropriation in 2005 of approximately 319,000 acres (1,290 km2) of land in Puerto Casado owned by Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church was unconstitutional.