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December 18, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new book on Christian femininity published in Spain by the Archdiocese of Granada has thrown the nation’s feminists into a frenzy and sparked calls for a ban from politicians as it climbs the bestseller list.

Titled Get Married and Be Submissive, the book by Italian journalist Costanza Miriano, who is a wife and mother of four, is intended for young wives. Its counterpart book for young husbands is titled Get Married and Lay Down Your Life for Her.

Accusing Miriano of advocating the oppression of women, feminists have launched book-ripping protests. But the author insists she speaks of “submission in the Pauline way, not the feminist one.”

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Granada city councillor Maite Molina, from the United Left party, has asked the city’s District Attorney to act against the book’s publishing, saying it’s an “apology in violence against women.”

The book has also reached Spain’s Health and Equality Minister Ana Mato, who during the International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25th, said to the press that she “would like for the book to be withdrawn, as it is not adequate and it is disrespectful towards women.”

Both the author and the Archbishop of Granada, Msgr. Francisco Javier Martinez, are defending the book however.

In a recent press release, Archbishop Martinez called the criticism “ridiculous and hypocritical” given that Spain allows abortion, a grave form of violence against women. He says the criticism amounts to Christian persecution.

According to the Archbishop, the controversy is being caused by those who “have other interests and motives which are not precisely defending women or caring about their dignity.”

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“It’s more about damaging the only institution… that refuses to be domesticated by the rolling pin of the dominating culture: the Christian people,” he said.

“The important thing is that God’s love triumph,” said the archbishop. “Persecutions are opportunities for the Church to show love to every human being.”

He noted how some of today’s books, which mock sacred realities like marriage and maternity, are protected by “freedom of expression, which by the way, is a Christian invention.”

“Neither this book or any of my declarations, have ever justified nor promoted violence against women,” he insisted. Rather, he said, it is abortion and “all the measures that weaken or eliminate marriage” that do that.

Miriano told ACI Prensa that she was not offended by the criticism because “any woman that reacts this way is a wounded woman, she has not found her true beauty, she is not at peace and is not happy in her vocation.”

“The mothers and wives who I know are happy, have loved the book,” she added. “In Italy it has sold around 50,000 copies, a very good number for the country.”

Her book, she said “is about engagement, marriage, family life, being open to life, having children, raising children.”

She explained she intended to “translate the Church’s idea of marriage into a language that we can all understand. Specially those who are distant (to the Church).”

“It’s about not yelling out each other’s rights, but about recognizing each one’s own poverty.” She explained that Saint Paul said in another passage to “be reciprocally submissive.”

On November 17th, after all the attacks heaped on the archbishop, the faithful of Granada and other Spanish cities gathered in the city’s cathedral to celebrate Mass and show their support for their prelate.

The book has a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating on Amazon.com, with comments like “this book is a hymn to the beauty of women. It’s a genuinely feminine book. Violence has nothing to do with what Miriano writes, as she describes a family love that luckily still exists in the world. It’s precious!”

Another reader said the book was a “great read. It talks about service, chosen freely and for love, by the woman to her family, and about the reciprocal donation of her husband … Would be very useful read for engaged people.”

“I perfectly understand why Spanish politicians attack it,” reads another comment. “They’re scared that Spaniards might wake up from the ‘politically correct’ dictatorship.”

According to the Spanish National Statistics Institute, between 2005 and 2013, the rate of divorced couples in Spain increased by 54%. Spain also has the lowest birth rate in Europe.