Melicia Antonio

Melicia Antonio is in her fourth year of Notre Dame’s Theology PhD program, in the area of Moral Theology and Christian Ethics. Prior to coming to South Bend, Melicia earned an S.T.L. in Moral Theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, Italy, and taught theology and philosophy for the Anahuac University of Mexico City. Melicia’s research interests include Catholic social and political thought, public morality, and church-state relations, with a particular interest in non-democratic governments. Her dissertation is a case study of how the Spanish Catholic Church’s political theology evolved during the transition period from Franco’s authoritarian regime to democracy, and what lessons the universal Church can take away from that experience. Melicia is especially grateful for the opportunities she has had at Notre Dame to study with political scientists and historians and looks forward to collaborating with scholars from many fields on interdisciplinary issues.