Livio Melina – författare

Although it is not always recognized, the damage left by a divorce or an abortion can be devastating. These actions have not only physical consequences, but psychological and spiritual ones as well. No individual or family comes out of either experience unharmed. Recently, the Pontifical John Paul II Institute’s International Congress, comprised of the world’s foremost experts in each field, was held to discuss the suffering of people who have been affected by these acts and the ways in which their lingering pain should be approached and relieved. The findings of this symposium, compiled by leading authorities Carl Anderson and Father Livio Melina, form the basis of Oil on the Wounds: A Response to the Aftermath of Divorce and Abortion. The book is divided into two sections. The first section deals with the aftermath of divorce, its long-term effects on the social lives of children, and the ways in which the Church can offer compassion and counsel to those affected. The second section addresses the issue of abortion, the pain that results from ending a pregnancy, and what the Church’s role should be in the alleviation of that pain. The text relies on sociological and psychological perspectives to illuminate these “wounds,” and suggests both practical and spiritual methods of healing. Inspired by the biblical story of the Good Samaritan, this volume asks us to recognize the profound torment left in the wake of divorce and abortion. It urges us to act accordingly in the face of these ordeals--to shoulder the burden of the tormented in an attempt to one day alleviate their suffering by the grace of God. Ultimately, this collection of essays is meant to create a dialogue, promote recognition of those psychologically and spiritually harmed by divorce or abortion, and explore our duty to listen to these victims and, like the Good Samaritan, “bandage” their wounds. This book is for laymen, professionals, and clergy who seek to understand the issues not only from a religious point of view, but also from a human perspective.

In this volume Livio Melina attempts to overcome the deadlock in which moral theology can easily find itself due to the false alternative between moralism, with its emphasis on external rules, and antimoralism, with its insistence on freedom from all norms. The key, Melina argues here, is not to regard morality as a simple list of principles directing our choices and helping us to make correct moral judgments. Rather, we must step back and begin to comprehend the dynamic mystery of Christian action. Only in the light of Christ can the proper correlation between faith and morality, freedom and truth, be clearly understood. True morality springs from a synergistic relationship with God, born of faith in Christ, nurtured in the church, and made manifest in that which inspires all authentic goodness -- the epiphany of love.

The encyclical ""Veritatis splendor"" (The Splendor of Truth) represents the first document of the magisterium devoted to the foundations of the Catholic moral life. Though it was intended to confront a genuine crisis of moral disintegration and to offer positive directions for carrying out the work of renewing moral theology, it was fiercely criticized by theologians who regarded it as a simplistic and ""repressive"" document. Now, several years after the publication of the encyclical, Livio Melina offers an original contribution not only to the study of ""Veritatis splendor"" and the controversy surrounding it, but also to the field of moral theology as a whole. In ""Sharing in Christ's Virtues"", Melina proposes a blueprint for organizing moral theology, one that is in harmony with the directions given in ""Veritatis splendor"" and one that likewise respects the requirements of both the ""theological"" and the ""scientific"" character of the discipline. He describes it as a ""Christocentricism of the virtues,"" which understands the moral life of Christians as a participation in the virtues of Christ by means of the grace of one's ecclesial incorporation in Christ. Melina argues that the renewal of moral theology should result in, first, a search for a more integral and dynamic understanding of human action, and second, a theological ""re-dimensioning"" of morality to better comprehend the synergy between human action and God's action.