Thesis advisor: Rafael Luciani / Thesis advisor: Casey Beaumier / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

Thesis advisor: Roberto Goizueta / The injunction to `love our neighbor' is a constitutive element of any Christian ethic. It is frequently found embedded within the triadic formulation of `love of God, love of neighbor, and love of self.' Because this injunction must always be contextualized within each historical period it was important to explore how one should love the neighbor in our contemporary context. The dissertation begins by exploring the contemporary conditions of pluralism and interdependence. In this context we realize that love of neighbor must manifest in an encounter with the other. The project shows some current models of encountering the other. In showing the inadequacies of each model I also introduce the work of Johann B. Metz and Enrique Dussel. I then construct a process entitled Agapic Solidarity which seeks to use some aspects of the political theology of Metz and the liberation philosophy of Dussel to formulate an authentic encounter with the other. This process honors both elements; the condition of pluralism and the acknowledgement of interdependence. In doing this we begin the process of loving the neighbor which is so central to any Christian ethic. In the conclusion of the dissertation I show some possible applications of the process. The final component is a case study of the undocumented migrant in the United States of America as a demonstration of the process in action. In this way, it shows how the ethical demand can be enacted and embodied within a particular, concrete ethical issue. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Zugl.: Münster (Westfalen), Univ., Diss., 2008.