Spanish Archbishop Remarks on “Macho Reaction” in Domestic Violence

In a December 27 sermon, Archbishop Braulio Rodrí­guez of Toledo, Spain, placed some of the blame for Spain’s domestic violence on women, “quickie divorce” and “gender ideology,” according to El País. A copy of the sermon posted on the archdiocesan website explained that domestic violence occurred because “frequently the macho reac­tion is due to the fact that the woman has requested a separation.”

Just weeks after the release of a Spanish report detailing the large number of domestic violence cases brought to authorities, Rodríguez appeared to dismiss legal solutions to the problem. He believes that “[h]owever good the laws are, or whatever comes out of our parliaments … there is little one can do if a person doesn’t change from within.”

In an article about the Catholic church and domestic violence published by Vida Nueva, a lay Cath­olic group based in Spain, psychotherapist Monserrat Davins said that the church was “a patriarchal institu­tion,” and one that “has had great difficulty adapting its communication style to our times.”