Melia, Pius, Italian theologian, b. at Rome, January 12, 1800; d. in London, June, 1883. He entered the Society of Jesus on August 14, 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 defense 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”, Father Lockhart merely declares that the latter work was written by certain Italian Jesuits; Father de Backer, in his “Dietionnaire des Antonymes”, attributed it to Passaglia, but his “Bibliotheque de la Compagnie de Jesus”, reedited 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.
WM. T. TALLON