ABERLE, Moritz von. – Theologian and biblical scholar, born 25 Apr. 1817 at Rottum near Biberach, ordained priest 29 Aug. 1842, died 3 Nov. 1875 at Tübingen, where from 1850 he held the chair of moral theology and New Testament exegesis in the Catholic theological faculty. From 1851 he was principal contributor to the Theologische Quartalschrift.
As a moralist he followed St Alphonsus, deepened probabilism, and developed speculative rather than casuistic theology. His New Testament studies, published in lengthy articles, dealt with the Gospels (especially the Last Supper, the Passion, the Resurrection), the Acts of the Apostles, 1 Timothy, and the Apocalypse. An innovator in method but traditionalist in substance, he sought to prove that the evangelists had an anti-Jewish apologetic purpose. He was a pious priest, a beloved teacher, and an indefatigable researcher. His Einleitung in das Neue Testament was published posthumously by his successor P. Schanz (Freiburg in Br. 1877).