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Matteo Liberatore

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Matteo Liberatore, SJ (born at Salerno, Italy, 14 August 1810; died at Rome, 18 October 1892) was an Italian Jesuit philosopher, theologian, and writer. He helped popularize the Jesuit periodical Civiltà Cattolica in close collaboration with the papacy in the last half of the 19th century and was the primary author of the 1891 encyclical, Rerum novarum.[1]

Life

Matteo was the son of Nicola Liberatore, a magistrate, and Caterina De Rosa who was from a noble Albanian family of Barile. He studied at the College of the Jesuits at Naples in 1825, and a year later applied for admission into the Society of Jesus, entering the novitiate on 9 October 1826. He taught philosophy at the Jesuit college of Naples for eleven years, from 1837 until the Revolution of 1848 drove him to Malta.[2]

On returning to Italy he was appointed to teach theology, but gave up his professorship in 1850 to cofound Civiltà Cattolica, a periodical founded by the Jesuits to defend the cause of the Church and the papacy, and to spread the knowledge of the doctrine of Thomas Aquinas. Liberatore's helped bring about the revival of the scholastic philosophy of Aquinas, publishing his own course of philosophy in 1842. This movement he promoted in the classroom, by textbooks on philosophy, by articles in Civiltà Cattolica and other periodicals, by larger and more extensive works, and also by his work as a member of the Accademia Romana by appointment of Leo XIII. In 1879 he contributed to Leo XIII's encyclical Aeterni Patris on scholastic philosophy, promoting the teaching of Thomism in all Catholic schools. He also collaborated in the writing of the encyclical Immortale Dei (1885) and wrote the first draft and several revisions of Leo's ground-breaking social encyclical Rerum novarum (1891).[1]

For 42 years, from 1850 to 1892, Liberatore published over 390 articles, many apologetic in defense of the Holy See, drawing attention to Civiltà Cattolica. He predicted a more universal role for the papacy with the loss of temporal power. He was a close collaborator with Pius IX and Leo XIII and taught a philosophy course at the Pontifical Gregorian University where his students included Ambrogio Ratti, the future Pope Pius XI.[2][3]

Works

Sommervogel records more than forty of his published works, and gives the titles of more than nine hundred of his articles (including reviews) which appeared in Civiltà Cattolica alone.[4] His works include:

  • Institutiones Philosophicæ (1842)
  • Le Commedie Filosofiche (1863)
  • Chiesa e Stato (1871)
  • Spicilegio 1878)
  • Della Conoscenza Intellettuale: volume 1 (1857), volume 2 (1858)
  • Del Composto Umano (1880)
  • Degli Universali (1885)
  • Compendium ethicae et iuris naturae (1886)
  • Of ecclesiastical public law (1887)
  • Principles of political economy (1889)
  • Compendium logicae et metaphysicae (1891)[2]

English translations of Degli universali and Principii di economia politica were published by Edward Heneage Dering.

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Matteo Liberatore — A philosopher, theologian, and writer, born at Salerno, Italy, 14 August, 1810; died at Rome, 18 October, 1892. He studied at the College of the Jesuits at Naples in 1825, and a year later applied for admission into the Society of Jesus, His remarkable innocence, brilliant talents, and strength of character made him a most acceptable candidate, and he entered the novitiate on 9 October, 1826. The long course of studies was completed by him with unusual success, and resulted in his teaching philosophy for the space of eleven years, from 1837 until the Revolution of 1848 drove him to Malta. On returning to Italy he was appointed to teach theology, but gave up his professorship to found and assume charge in 1850 of the "Civiltà Cattolica", a periodical founded by the Jesuits to defend the cause of the Church and the papacy, and to spread the knowledge of the doctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas. Indeed it is Liberatore's chief glory to have brought about the revival of the Scholastic philosophy of St. Thomas. This movement he inaugurated by publishing his course of philosophy in 1840, at a time when the prevailing methods of teaching that science, even among certain Catholics, were, to say the least, little calculated to provide solid foundation for Catholic doctrine. This movement he supported to his dying day by his teaching in the class-room, by textbooks on philosophy, by able articles in the "Civiltà Cattolica" and other periodicals, by larger and more extensive works, and also by his work as member of the Accademia Romana by appointment of Leo XIII.

For more than half a century he was the tireless champion of truth in the fields of philosophy and theology, and of the rights of the Church. His pen was constantly at work, analysing the vexed problems of Christian life both theoretical and practical, marking out the relations between Church and State, and the moral and social aspects of life. His watchfulness over the foundations of the faith is attested by his successful struggles with Rationalism, Ontologism, and Rosminianism. His literary activity may be estimated from the fact that Sommervogel records more than forty of his published works, and gives the titles of more than nine hundred of his articles (including reviews) which appeared in the "Civiltà" alone. The most prominent characteristics of his writings are keenness of judgement, strength of argument, breadth of learning, logical sequence of thought, close observation of facts, knowledge of men and of the world, and simplicity and elegance of style. He has been regarded by many as the greatest philosopher of his day. It is a tribute to his holiness of life and deep religious spirit that his brethren of the Society of Jesus were Less impressed by his varied talents and immense learning than by the many virtues displayed during his long and fruitful life as scholar, professor, writer, academician, director of souls, and rector. His name will long be in blessed memory among all those who love the Church. The following are the best known, perhaps, of his works: "Institutiones Philosophicæ"; "Instructiones Ethicæ"; various compendiums of logic, metaphysics, ethics, and natural law; "Della Conoscenza intellettuale"; "Del Composto umano"; "Dell' Anima umana"; "Degli Universali"; "Chiesa e Stato"; "Dialoghi filosofici"; "Il Matrimomo"; "Roma e il mondo"; "Il Matrimonio e lo Stato"; "Le Commedie filosofiche"; and "Spicilegio".

Civiltà Cattolica, series XV, t. IV, 352-380; American Ecclesiastical Review (December, 1892); SOMMERVOGEL, Bibl. de la C. de J., t. IV, c. 1774.

References

  1. Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Molony, John (1991). The worker question: a new historical perspective on Rerum novarum. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. pp. 66–100. ISBN 978-0-7171-1915-8.
  2. Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Back to citation occurrence 2.2 Discepolo 2005.
  3. Back to citation Fisher, John Harding (1910). "Matteo Liberatore". Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9.
  4. Back to citation Backer, Augustin de; Backer, Aloys de; Sommervogel, Carlos; Carayon, Auguste (1960). Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus. Boston College Libraries. Louvain, Editions de la Bibliothèque S.J., Collège philosophique et théologique. pp. 1774–1803.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Masnovo, Amato (1908). "Le P. Liberatore fut-il thomiste de 1840 à 1850?". Revue néo-scolastique de philosophie. 15: 518–526.
  • Mirabella, Tommaso (1956). Il Pensiero Politico di P. Matteo Liberatore ed il suo Contributo ai Rapporti tra Chiesa e Stato. Milano: Giuffré.
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