Disobedient husbands are to blame for domestic violence.
Did the Archbishop of Toledo really say this in his sermon to churchgoers in the cathedral? No, of course not.
Instead he made it clear that violent behaviour resulted from a woman’s rejection of her partner’s demands and that wives could avoid physical abuse by doing what they are told and not asking for a divorce.
What he did say was that: “The majority of domestic violence cases happen because the woman’s partner does not accept them or rejects them for not accepting their demands."
"Often the macho reaction comes about because she asked for a separation," Archbishop Braulio Rodríguez said, according to local newspaper, Periódico CLM.
His sermon was given on 27 December during mass in Toledo Cathedral and his comments subsequently published in the parish bulletin.
The celibate archbishop had other complaints, using his sermon as a vehicle to say that many problems in relationships resulted because it was not “a true marriage”.
He was equally repelled by “quickie divorces”.
"I don’t think our political leaders are worried about divorce figures when they have fought so hard to implement the so-called 'quickie divorce'," he said.
Many Spanish women have taken to social media to slam the cleric and his comments.
More than one million cases of domestic abuse have gone through the Spanish courts since 2007. Judges have sent 148,000 men to jail.
Last year, domestic violence resulted in the deaths of 56 women.
To start 2016, on 4 January a woman was drowned by her partner in Madrid.
