Melanie Barrett, Ph.D., S.T.D.
Chairperson and Professor in the Department of Moral Theology
(847) 837-4523
B.A. (Political Science and International Studies), Northwestern University. M.A. (Divinity) and Ph.D. (Religious Ethics), University of Chicago Divinity School. S.T.L.. University of St. Mary of the Lake, S.T.D. (Moral Theology), University of Fribourg. Author of Love’s Beauty at the Heart of the Christian Moral Life: The Ethics of Catholic Theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. Author of “Co-Creating With the Creator: A Virtue-Based Approach,” in Science, Faith, & Human Fertility: The Third Conference on Ethical Fertility Health Management. Member of editorial boards, Journal of Moral Theology and Chicago Studies. Member of the Society of Christian Ethics and the Academy of Catholic Theology.
Books
Science, Faith and Human Fertility
Science, Faith and Human Fertility: Third Conference on Ethical Fertility Health Management
Edited by Richard Fehring and Theresa Notare
Dr. Barrett contributed the chapter, Co-Creating with the Creator: a Virtue Ethics Based Approach
Marquette University Press, 2012, 421 pages
Love’s Beauty at the Heart of the Christian Moral Life
Love’s Beauty at the Heart of the Christian Moral Life develops the ethical theory implicit in the writings of Hans Urs von Balthasar, a prominent 20th century Swiss Catholic theologian, attempting to retrieve the concept of beauty for Christian theology and yielding important ethical insights, culminating in an aesthetic and dramatic theory of ethics: one in which the perception of the beauty of God’s love in Christ becomes a foundational experience for moral formation and ongoing ethical discernment.
Edwin Mellen Press, 2009, 317 pages
Papers & Presentations
- “Why Does God Allow Violence to Exist in the World?” Interview, Catholic New World, June 26, 2016
- “How Clergy Are Called to Understand and Respond to the Evils of Porn.”, Conference presentation for “Create a Clean Heart: Defeating the Poison of Pornography in our Parish and in our Culture.” Sponsored by the Respect Life office of the Archdiocese of Chicago, St. Luke’s parish, and Relevant Radio. , April 1, 2016
- “Five Building Blocks for a Sound Moral Theology”, Chicago Studies, 2012
- “Aesthetic Virtue Ethics: The Beauty of Love in Moral Formation and Ethical Discernment.”, Presented at “You are Beauty: Exploring the Catholic Imagination” conference, Center for Ethics and Culture, University of Notre Dame., November 11, 2016
