, on August 18, 1952) is a priest of the Catholic Church and an Italian theologian. Currently Melina is President of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family

Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family

The Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family is a Roman Catholic pontifical institute of theological studies with locations around the world....

, where he is also a tenured Professor of Moral Theology.

Biography

Livio Melina was born in Adria

Adria

Adria is a town and comune in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po....

 in 1952. Since high school, he has been a member of the ecclesial Communion and Liberation

Communion and Liberation

Communion and Liberation, or CL, is a lay ecclesial movement within the Catholic Church.-Overview:CL grew out of the educational and catechetical methods of Msgr. Luigi Giussani, who founded the movement...

 movement and was one of its initiators in Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

.

Melina completed a degree in philosophy at the University of Padua

University of Padua

The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...

 in 1975, and then entered the seminary of the diocese of Adria. He was ordained a priest on June 21, 1980.

In 1982 he obtained a Licentiate in Moral Theology (STL) from the Pontifical Gregorian University

Pontifical Gregorian University

The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...

 in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, and in October 1985 a Doctorate in Theology (STD) from the Pontifical Lateran University

Pontifical Lateran University

The Pontifical Lateran University is a university by pontifical right based in Rome, Italy. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family...

 with the dissertation Ratio practica, scientia moralis e prudentia. Linee di riflessione sul Commento di San Tommaso all'Etica Nicomachea written under the direction of Professor Carlo Caffarra.

From October 1984 to October 1991 he worked as an assistant of studies at the Doctrinal Session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...

, under the direction of then Card. Joseph Ratzinger.

In 1991 he became a tenured professor of Fundamental Moral Theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family

Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family

The Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family is a Roman Catholic pontifical institute of theological studies with locations around the world....

. In 1997 he started The International Research Group on Moral Theology (Area Internazionale di Ricerca in Teologia Morale) and has been directing it since then. In 2002 he became Vice President of the Central Session of the Institute. In 2006 Benedict XVI nominated Melina as President of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family

Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family

The Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family is a Roman Catholic pontifical institute of theological studies with locations around the world....

, where he is also a tenured Professor of moral theology

Moral theology

Moral theology is a systematic theological treatment of Christian ethics. It is usually taught on Divinity faculties as a part of the basic curriculum.- External links :*...

, and in 2010 renewed the nomination.

Livio Melina is a Visiting Professor in Washington DC (United States of America) and Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 (Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

). He has given lectures and conferences in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

.

Since 2007 he has been an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. He is Scientific Director of the review Anthropotes, a member of the consultant committee of the international review Communio, and cooperates with other international reviews such as The Thomist, La scuola cattolica, Medicina e morale, La società, Il nuovo aeropago, Logos. He is also a corresponding member of the Académie d'Education et d'Etudes Sociales in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

.

Livio Melina, who received the honorary title of Monsignor from John Paul II, is considered, in Catholic circles, to be one of the greatest exponents of moral theology

Moral theology

Moral theology is a systematic theological treatment of Christian ethics. It is usually taught on Divinity faculties as a part of the basic curriculum.- External links :*...

 and bioethics

Bioethics

Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....

.

Works

In addition to numerous articles, he has written, co-authored, and edited numerous books, including:

• La conoscenza morale. Linee di riflessione sul Commento di san Tommaso all'Etica Nicomachea, Città Nuova, Roma, 1987, ISBN 88-311-1340-2.
• Morale: tra crisi e rinnovamento. Gli assoluti morali, l'opzione fondamentale, la formazione della coscienza, Ares, Milano, 1993, ISBN 88-8155-105-5, translated in French, 1995, Spanish, 1996 and 1998.
• Corso di bioetica. Il Vangelo della vita, Piemme, Casale Monferrato, 1996, ISBN 88-384-2585-X.
• Amor conjugal y vocación a la santidad, Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago de Chile, 1997 ISBN 956-14-0428-1 (with Jean Lafitte), translated in French, 2001, Italian, 2006.
• Domanda sul bene e domanda su Dio, Lateran University Press - Mursia, Roma, 1999, ISBN 88-465-0056-3 (with José Noriega)
• Quale dimora per l'agire? Dimensioni ecclesiologiche della morale, Pontificia Università Lateranense, Roma, 2000, ISBN 88-465-0075-X (with Angelo Scola and P.Zanor).
• La plenitud del obrar cristiano: dinámica de la acción y perspectiva teológica de la moral, Palabra, Madrid, 2001 ISBN 978-84-8239-578-4 (with Juan José Pérez-Soba and José Noriega).
• Sharing in Christ's Virtues. For a Renewal of Moral Theology in Light of Veritatis Splendor, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington D.C., 2001 ISBN 0-8132-0989-7, translated in Spanish, 2005.
• Cristo e il dinamismo dell'agire, Linee di rinnovamento della teologia morale fondamentale, Lateran University Press - Mursia, Roma, 2001, ISBN 88-465-0097-0.
• Verità e libertà nella teologia morale, Pontificia Università Lateranense, Roma, 2001, ISBN 88-465-0205-1 (with J.Larrú).
• AA.VV., L'agire morale del cristiano, vol. XX di AMATECA - Manuali di Teologia Cattolica, Jaka Book, Milano, 2002, ISBN 88-16-40574-0, translated in Spanish, 2002.
• Il bene e la persona nell'agire, Lateran University Press, Roma, 2002, ISBN 88-465-0230-2 (with Juan José Pérez-Soba).
• La sequela Christi. Dimensione morale e spirituale dell'esperienza cristiana, Lateran University Press, Roma, 2003, ISBN 88-465-0451-8 (with O. Bonnewjin).
• Camminare nella Luce. Prospettive della teologia morale a partire da 'Veritatis splendor, Lateran University Press, Roma, 2004, ISBN 88-465-0487-9 (with José Noriega).
• Amore e giustizia. Limiti alla responsabilità?, Lateran University Press, Roma, 2005, ISBN 88-465-0501-8 (with D.Granada)
• Per una cultura della famiglia: il linguaggio dell'amore, Marcianum Press, Venezia, 2006, ISBN 88-89736-08-9
• Amore coniugale e vocazione alla santità, Effatà Editrice, Cantalupa (TO), 2006, ISBN 88-7402-063-5 (with J.Lafitte)
• AA.VV., Lo splendore della vita. Vangelo, scienza ed etica. Prospettive della bioetica a dieci anni da 'Evangelium Vitae, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, 2006, ISBN 8820978846 (edited by Livio Melina, Elio Sgreccia and Stephan Kampowski)
• Una luz para el obrar. Experiencia moral, caridad y acción cristiana, Palabra, Madrid, 2006, ISBN 978-84-9840-059-5 (with Juan José Pérez-Soba e José Noriega).
• La via dell'amore. Riflessioni sull'Enciclica 'Deus caritas est' di Benedetto XVI, RAI-ERI, Roma, 2006, ISBN 9788839713926 (with Carl A. Anderson
  Carl A. Anderson
  Carl Albert Anderson, KSG is the thirteenth and current Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus. Anderson is vice president of the Washington session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family....
  
  ).
• AA.VV., Amare l'amore umano. L'eredità di Giovanni Paolo II sul matrimonio e la famiglia, Cantagalli, Siena, 2007, ISBN 88-8272-326-7 (edited by Livio Melina and Stanislaw Grygiel).
• Camminare nella luce dell'amore. I fondamenti della morale cristiana. Manuale di teologia cattolica, Cantagalli, Siena, 2008, ISBN 88-8272-348-8; Spanish edition, Palabra, Madrid, 2007, ISBN 978-84-9840-141-7 (with Juan José Pérez-Soba and José Noriega).
• Azione: epifania dell'amore. La morale cristiana oltre il moralismo e l'antimoralismo, Cantagalli, Siena, 2008, ISBN 88-8272-364-X.
• Imparare ad amare. Alla scuola di Giovanni Paolo II e di Benedetto XVI, Cantagalli, Siena, 2009, ISBN 978-88-8272-447-4.
• Liebe auf katholisch. Ein Handbuch für heute, Sankt Ulrich Verlag, Augsburg, 2009, ISBN 978-3-86744-103-2
• The Epiphany of Love: Toward a Theological Understanding of Christian Action, Ressourcement series, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 2010.
• Building a Culture of the Family: The Language of Love, Foreword by Scott Hahn, St. Pauls – Alba House, New York City, 201, ISBN 9780818913303.

External links

• Biography on Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family web site.
• Amare l'amore umano. L'eredità di Wojtyla, Tracce, n°6, 2006