LIBERATORE, Matteo. — Philosopher and theologian, b. at Salerno on 10 Aug. 1810, d. at Rome on 18 Oct. 1892. At the age of 16 (9 Oct. 1826) he entered the Society of Jesus in Naples, where he completed his philosophical and theological studies. First assigned to teaching philosophy (1837–48) and later theology, in 1850 he took part in the founding of the journal *La Civiltà Cattolica* (which was soon transferred to Rome), to whose editorial staff he contributed indefatigably with numerous and valuable articles until his death.
His principal merit lies in the significant contribution he made to the renewal of Neoscholastic philosophy, especially Thomistic, which had been largely forgotten and undervalued in the early 19th century, even in ecclesiastical schools. Under the guidance of Tapparelli and Sordi, he penetrated and assimilated with rare depth the perennial content of truth, expounding it from the chair and above all in many works that were widely circulated in numerous editions, among which the principal ones are: *Institutiones philosophicae* (2 vols., Naples 1840–42); *Della conoscenza intellettuale* (2 vols., Rome 1857–58); *Del composto umano* (ibid. 1862); *Istituzioni di etica e diritto naturale* (ibid. 1863); *Dell’anima umana* (ibid. 1875); *Degli universali* (6 booklets, ibid. 1883); *Del diritto pubblico ecclesiastico* (Prato 1887); *Principi di economia politica* (Rome 1889). In the light of Scholastic principles, Liberatore was able to examine the new philosophical systems (rationalism, ontologism, etc.) and refute their errors. Sound judgment and particular strength and pedagogical balance characterize both his systematic treatises and many specialized studies on the most pressing and fundamental theological, philosophical, and natural law problems with which he nobly defended the cause of the Church and Christian thought.