Serving the Body: Using the Political Theology of Pope Francis as a Bridge to Implement Theology of the Body Within Pastoral Ministry

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the meaning of Theology of the Body (TOB) and seeks to find ways to incorporate its themes within ministry. There are three parts to this thesis: St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, Pope Francis’s principles of evangelization, and phenomenology. Both the themes of TOB and the principles of evangelization were analyzed separately then phenomenologically analyzed together to find new implications for ministry and ways to incorporate these teachings into ministerial work. The first part of this research is Theology of the Body. This theological anthropology looks at the meaning of humanity and how man and woman are called to live in relationship with each other. For the purposes of this research four main themes that summarize the main themes of Theology of the Body were selected: the human vocation is to be a total gift of self, authentic love is found in a communion of persons, the human body is a sacrament, and the human body has an inherently spousal dimension. The second part of this thesis looks at the political theology of Pope Francis. This is exhibited in his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii gaudium. In this papal document, he lists four principles of evangelization that are important for ministry and encountering society. These principles are time is greater than space, unity prevails over conflict, realities are more important than ideas, and the whole is greater than the part. Just like the themes of Theology of the Body, these principles were analyzed to establish a greater understanding of their meaning. The third part of this thesis is phenomenology. Phenomenology is a philosophical methodology that seeks to describe an object and its potentiality. It does so by using a phenomenological reduction that brackets presuppositions or biases towards the phenomena. The object that is analyzed is then described. In this research, the themes of TOB and principles of evangelization were paired up and phenomenologically analyzed by looking at each text and its meaning. These analyses were documented and examined to create suggestions on the use of Theology of the Body for ministry. The end result of this research provides recommendations on ways to incorporate Theology of the Body into pastoral ministry. Instead of focusing on the creation of a curriculum or specific program, this thesis suggests that the best way to implement Theology of the Body is to intentionally incorporate it into all aspects of ministry. Pastoral ministers should create a culture of encounter that supports each individual while dialoguing and creating an understanding of the importance of TOB. Additionally, ministers should embody the values this document teaches. Theology of the Body offers insight on how the human person should exist in community with others and this research provides suggestions to help ministers make these themes a reality.