Thomas Reese

Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese's column for Religion News Service, "Signs of the Times," appears regularly at National Catholic Reporter.

Reese entered the Jesuits in 1962 and was ordained in 1974. He was educated at St. Louis University, the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and at the University of California Berkeley, where he received a Ph.D. in political science. He worked in Washington as a writer and lobbyist for tax reform from 1975 to 1978. He was an associate editor of America magazine, where he wrote on politics, economics and the Catholic Church, from 1978 to 1985 and editor-in-chief from 1998 to 2005. He was a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center from 1985 to 1998 and 2006 to 2013. During the summers, he works as a visiting scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. 

While at Woodstock, he wrote the trilogy on the organization and politics of the church: Archbishop: Inside the Power Structure of the American Catholic Church (1989), A Flock of Shepherds: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops (1992), and Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church (1996). He also edited The Universal Catechism Reader (1990), an analysis of the first draft of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and Episcopal Conferences: Historical, Canonical and Theological Studies (1989). He is also author of a NCR e-book, Caring for Our Common Home: A Readers’ Guide and Commentary on Pope Francis’ Encyclical on the Environment (2015).

In 2014, Reese was appointed by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission that reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. He was reappointed to another two-year term in May 2016, and he was elected to a one-year term as chair of the commission in June 2016. His writings for NCR do not necessarily reflect the views of the commission.

Reese was senior analyst for the NCR from March 2013 to June 2017. He is based in Washington, D.C.

By this Author

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops holds its Fall General Assembly meeting, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Baltimore. (RNS photo by Jack Jenkins)

At meeting, American bishops ignore real problems while debating minutiae

The media was expecting fireworks this week, as the American Catholic bishops debated their highly anticipated document on the Eucharist.

In this image taken from video, Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, addresses the body's virtual assembly on June 16. (AP/United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)

Gomez, painting Catholics as victims, goes after his woke oppressors

Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese: "Bishop Gomez's remarks," Tobias Winright of St. Louis University worries, "lift rather than lower the bridge over the moat dividing U.S. Catholics and recent movements in the U.S. seeking to build 'a more perfect union' with true liberty and social justice for all."

A statue of St. Junipero Serra in Sacramento, California, is seen in this 2015 file photo. It was torn down by a group of demonstrators late July 4, 2020. (CNS/Nancy Wiechec)

California bishops should ask, 'What would Junipero Serra do?'

Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese: Last year, protesters were arrested after Junipero Serra's statue was torn down at a San Rafael mission. His statues were also attacked elsewhere. Bishops have labeled these attacks anti-Catholic; I think they should ask the following.

Pope Francis greets then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 19, 2013, as the new pontiff receives dignitaries following his inaugural Mass. (CNS/Vatican Media)

What will President Biden and Pope Francis talk about?

Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese: This will not be a pastoral meeting between the pope and one of the Catholic faithful. This is a meeting between the president of the United States and an influential world leader. 

Pope Francis greets Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 17, 2019. (CNS photo/Yara Nardi, Reuters)

Pope should send Greta Thunberg to COP26 in his place

Fr. Thomas Reese: Pope Francis should appoint Greta Thunberg to the Vatican delegation to COP26 with full diplomatic credentials so she can go anywhere, attend any meeting and speak out for the children of the world.

"Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (1887) by Viktor Vasnetsov (RNS/Creative Commons)

Woe to you, Washington! Woe to you, New York!

Fr. Thomas Reese: Floods of biblical proportions are coming. Plague, famine and war are forecast. But don't blame God. We are bringing the Apocalypse on ourselves.

Pope Francis attends his weekly general audience, held in the Paul VI hall, at the Vatican Sept. 1. (AP /Andrew Medichini)

Five rules for disagreeing with the pope

Thomas Reese: Let's be honest. We are all cafeteria Catholics. The real question is how we avoid a food fight in the cafeteria. Disagreements should lead to conversations, not shouting.

Pope Francis stops to greet the faithful as he leaves after the Aug. 25 weekly general audience at the Vatican. (AP/Gregorio Borgia)

Should Pope Francis get a third COVID-19 vaccine shot?

Signs of the Times: What kind of witness would the pope give if he got a third jab? Will he be seen as an elderly person who needs protection or will he be seen as a first-world resident who ignores the needs of those in poorer countries?

People evacuated from Afghanistan step off a bus as they arrive at a processing center Aug. 23 in Chantilly, after arriving on a flight at Dulles International Airport. (AP/Andrew Harnik)

Pope calls on world to welcome refugees and immigrants

Signs of the Times: Pope Francis was at his prophetic best on his recent papal trip. He is standing up for the marginalized who have been bloodied by war, starved by famine and displaced by persecution. 

The faithful wear masks and some wear gloves as they receive Communion at the first English Mass with faithful present at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels June 7, 2020, in downtown Los Angeles. (AP/Damian Dovarganes)

Six suggestions for the Catholic bishops' document on the Eucharist

Signs of the Times: The U.S. bishops are working on a document on the Eucharist, which could be very helpful if they do it right. The chances are slim. But I have six suggestions on what should the bishops say in their document on the Eucharist.

Hundreds of people run alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane as it moves down a runway of the international airport Aug. 16 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP/video screengrab via Twitter/@Mukhtarwafayee)

In Afghanistan, we made the same mistakes as in Vietnam

Signs of the Times: In Vietnam, we saw every insurgent as part of a worldwide communist conspiracy against the United States. In Afghanistan, we saw every Taliban as a terrorist who wanted to attack the United States. In both countries we ignored the deep resentment of their populations to foreign occupation.

Earthrise is a photograph of the Earth and parts of the Moon's surface taken from lunar orbit by astronaut Bill Anders in 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission. (Bill Anders/NASA/Creative Commons)

The climate apocalypse is real, and it is coming

Signs of the Times: As Pope Francis said, concern for the environment can no longer be an optional or secondary aspect of Christianity. It must be central to who we are as Christians.

Despite Pope Francis' words in Laudato Si', millions of Catholics, including bishops, are ignoring the looming climate apocalypse and the individual and systemic conversion needed to address it. Pope Francis greets Swedish teenage environmental activist G

COVID-19, global warming and diminishing Catholic guilt

Despite Pope Francis' words in Laudato Si', millions of Catholics, including bishops, are ignoring the looming climate apocalypse and the individual and systemic conversion needed to address it.

Pope Francis gives a rosary to a member of the medical staff at Gemelli hospital in Rome July 11, 2021, as he recovers following scheduled colon surgery. The pope expressed his gratitude for "making me feel at home" while he recovered from surgery, in a J

Even a pope needs a medical directive

Signs of the Times: Since the pope has no wife or children, he needs to designate someone who can make medical decisions for him, and the rest of the church needs to know who this is.

A priest elevates the Eucharist after consecrating it during a Latin Mass. (Creative Commons/Andrew Gardner)

The Latin Mass is not going away soon

Signs of the Times: Despite the recent decision of Pope Francis to curtail celebration of the Latin Mass, we are not going to see it disappear anytime soon for a simple reason: Local bishops can and will still permit it.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu looks down as he meets the media during a news conference in Rome

Indictments for Vatican financial crimes a sign of progress

 Last week's announcement of indictments by Vatican prosecutors is not a scandal but a sign of progress.

Democrats should support increasing the gas tax

Signs of the Times: Democrats are foolishly opposing Republican suggestions that the infrastructure bill should be partially funded by increasing the tax on gasoline. My suggestion: Tax the rich and corporations, and increase the gasoline tax.

In Central America, Kamala Harris ignored our best hope: Catholic bishops

Signs of the Times: It was a mistake for Vice President Kamala Harris to not meet with Catholic bishops during her visit to Central America in the first days of June. 

Baptist and Catholic leaders grapple with similar problems in different ways

Signs of the Times: This week, Catholic and Baptist leaders meet to deal with issues facing their churches. While the two Christian churches are very different from each other, they do face similar problems.

As Catholic bishops' Communion war roils June meeting, look what's not on the agenda

When the bishops gather virtually for their June 2021 meeting, all the attention will be focused on whether pro-choice Catholic politicians will be banned from Communion.

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