The first account of a woman in Scripture is bodily and relational; It demonstrates intelligence, strength, and leadership. Millennia of women have demonstrated the same aptitude, yet the church continues poorly represented, often distrustful of female leadership. In contemporary society and in historical accounts of women who dared leadership, there has been a disproportionate focus on the female corporality. The focus on the female body suggests that there is a silent understanding, which detracted attention from female political talent, and governing ability. The shift of focus has lessened the recognition of female contribution to society. This is especially true in the Roman Catholic Church, which is unabashedly male governed. The scrutiny that the Vatican has placed on liberal women religious orders in the US recently evidences this. Seeing that women have contributed to society in significant ways, the question arises: why is there so much mistrust and inequality? The answer lies in how the Catholic Church views the body, especially women’s bodies.

Philosophical understanding is the location from which life is lived. Therefore, the problem of lack of female leadership is an unexamined and undisputed philosophical foundation of the human body, which limits how the church understands the role of its members. In this project I wish to explore and examine the philosophical foundations that inform the Catholic Church on the human person and engage Protestant theologian Mayra Rivera Rivera and the work she is doing on theology of the body. My hope is that this study can further the acceptance of female leadership into the hierarchy and bring greater equality within the Catholic Church.