BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombia is poised to decriminalize bigamy and Catholic authorities in this deeply religious country are seeing red.

Under Colombia's new penal code, which goes into effect on July 25, men and women who take a second spouse will no longer be charged with a crime. At present, bigamy is punishable by one to four years in prison.

``This opens the door to promiscuity,'' Roman Catholic Bishop Hector Gutierrez, a member of Colombia's powerful Episcopal Conference, said on Monday.

Colombia's Chief Prosecutor Alfonso Gomez Mendez, one of the architects of the new penal code, said the bigamy law is irrelevant because there have been no recent reported cases.

However, Gomez said bigamy will still be ground for civil action, including divorce in civil marriages. ``The best punishment for a bigamist is a second marriage,'' he said.

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