The Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, has called for the heaviest punishment possible for men who kill their wives, as a string of deadly domestic violence cases have swept across the Dominican Republic.

“It strikes me that very few who are accused of killing their wives receive severe sentences.  There needs to be heavier sentences for those who are irresponsibly punishing women,” the cardinal said after celebrating Mass on his 45th anniversary of priestly ordination.

Asked about proposals to modify the country’s Constitution, Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez said he was in favor as long as the changes were done properly.  “I believe that the greater the peoples’ participation in a democracy the better.  Thus people can have the right to express themselves and to say what kind of country they want,” he stated.