Abstract:
Millions of people around the world are impacted by the HIV and AIDS epidemic, among which the women are greatly affected. Considering this reality, the goal of this work is to present contributions from the methodologies of Bible reading, particularly that of Popular Reading, Contextual Reading and Feminist Reading of the Bible, to pastoral care with these women. It begins with the presentation of a panorama of the evolution of the epidemic of HIV and AIDS looking specifically at what has been called the “feminization of the epidemic”, showing the reality of women with HIV and AIDS. This analysis of the reality is the starting point for the proposed reflection which is dedicated to discourse on the selected methodologies. It is understood that these methodologies are relevant for their specific field (biblical hermeneutics), but that, at the same time, they offer important contributions for the research object and its goal, the practices of pastoral care. These methodologies are presented based on the context of their development, paying special attention to the methodological issues, considering their approaches related to the central theme of the research. Thus, the elements of analysis used in the reflection on the practice of pastoral care with women with HIV and AIDS is presented. Pastoral care is understood as the various activities developed in the context of faith communities which have as a goal, among others, to accompany people in situations of crisis and suffering and strengthen them in the processes of overcoming these situations. Thus, as a proposal of practical work, the way which the religious discourse and praxis has impacted the epidemic, and particularly, the life of women with HIV and AIDS, is discussed as well as how Practical Theology is constituted and its task in this particular context, incorporating the elements emerging from the reflection on the methodologies of Bible reading. Added to this are the experiences, life experiences, wisdom and knowledge gathered during the personal trajectory of the researcher in the Casa Fonte Colombo, a welcoming and assistance institution in Porto Alegre/RS and in the Exchange program carried out in the South African context, at the Ujamaa Center, Pietermaritzburg, in the form of reports of the experience of the researcher. These reports reveal the possibilities of applying the methodologies of Bible reading which begin with the experiences of the subjects involved, carried out in a collective way, in pastoral care practices. Based on this we defend in this dissertation that Practical Theology, using the different methodologies of Bible reading, possesses important tools for pastoral care aiming at the transformation of the reality of women with HIV and AIDS.
