Pius Melia

Italian theologian, b. at Rome, 12 Jan., 1800; d. in London, June 1883. He entered the Society of Jesus on 14 Aug., 1815, taught literature at Reggio, and afterwards was engaged in preaching. He left the Society in 1853. He wrote two books: "Alcune ragioni del P. Pio Melia della C. di G." (Lucca, 1847), a defence of the Society of Jesus, and "Alcune affirmazioni del Sig. Antonio Rosmini-Serbati (Pisa, s. d.), an attack upon Rosmini (q. v.). In his "Life of Rosmini", Fr. Lockhart merely declares that the latter work was written by certain Italian Jesuits; Father de Backer, in his "Dictionnaire des Antonymes", attributed it to Passaglia, but his "Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus", re-edited by Sommervogel, follows Beorchia, who attributes it to Melia. Melia, who attacked especially Rosmini's doctrine on original sin, was answered by Rosmini (Milan, 1841) and Pagani (Milan, 1842); then began a bitter controversy which had to be ended by a direct command of Pius IX.

Sommervogel, Bibl. de la C. de J., V (Brussels and Paris, 1894); Lockhart, Life of Rosmini (London, 1886).

WM. M. TALLON