St. Alphonsus Liguori's Moral Theology has long been praised and held in the highest regard by the Church, covering every moral question of his day. Mediatrix Press is pleased to bring you the first English Translation of this excellent work, once widely read but relegated to obscurity on account of the loss of Latin fluency in Western Society. Volume 1 embraces the first three Books of Alphonsus' Moral Theology. Bl. Pope Pius IX declared: "Focusing his mind on the glory of God and the spiritual salvation of men he wrote many books, related with holy erudition and piety, whose opinions were between those embraced by both more lax and rigid theologians, to fortify the safe path by which the confessors of Christ's faithful could advance without dashing their foot upon a stone. [Apostolic Letter Honoring St. Alphonsus with the title of Doctor of the Church]

In this Theological treatise St. Robert Bellarmine takes on Protestant as well as Greek Orthodox objections to the Papacy in five books. In the first, he argues that Christ established the Primacy of Peter by means of an Ecclesiastical Monarchy, why it is fitting that the Church's government should be a monarchy; Exegetical Commentary on the Lord's words in Matthew 16 and John 21, along with copious Patristic testimony. In Book 2 is whether Peter has successors in the Ecclesiastical Monarchy, wherein Bellarmine defends the Church's position on the true history of Peter; that Peter truly went to Rome; that Peter was truly a Bishop there. In Book 3 Bellarmine shows the Pope is not Antichrist. In Book 4, Bellarmine argues why the Pope is infallible when he defines a doctrine on faith and morals and proceeds to defend Popes whom Protestants and others argued had erred while defining faith. In book 5, Bellarmine takes up the question of the Popes' power in civil affairs.

St. Alphonsus Liguori s Moral Theology has long been praised and held in the highest regard by the Church, covering every moral question of his day. This first ever English translation features book 4 of the Theologia Moralis, on The first through sixth commandments. These will cover topics as broad as the sin of divination, worshiping demons, blasphemy, oaths, vows, and when they are binding; when you must go to Mass and abstain from work, as well as considerations on the fourth commandment in regard to obedience, the fifth in terms of murder, just war and abortion, and in the 6th, adultery and the various sins against chastity.

St. Robert Bellarmine's work in defense of the saints, their place in heaven, their canonization and veneration, etc., ranks like all of his works among the classical works of Catholic Theology. In this work, Bellarmine meets the attack of Protestantism against Catholic teaching on the saints, firstly on their own ground with sound Scriptural Exegesis, backed up by the witness of the Greek and Latin Church. The great counter-reformation doctor begins the work with a treatise on whether the souls of the saints receive a particular judgment and go to heaven or await for the end of time suspended as it were in some hidden place; then what canonization is, who does it and what is its authority; then lastly, whether the saints may be venerated and invoked.