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

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, left, talks with Cardinal Robert Sarah in Rome, Oct. 14, 2015. (AP/Andrew Medichini, File)

Oct 11, 2023

Conservative cardinals have five questions or 'dubia.' I have six.

Traditionalists don't like Pope Francis because he is the first truly post-Counter-Reformation pope, with perhaps the exception of John XXIII, argues Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese.

Oct 03, 2023

Discernment is at the heart of the synod, but it's not easy — nor is it always successful

During the synod Oct. 4-29, we will all need patience and humility as the delegates try to discern in what direction the Spirit is calling us to travel. It will take prayer, spiritual conversation and listening to hear the Spirit.

Red birettas and rings are pictured at a consistory led by Pope Francis for the creation of 13 new cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in this Nov. 28, 2020, file photo. (OSV News/Vatican Media)

Sep 25, 2023

Getting ready for the next conclave

In making cardinals, Francis has looked for bishops who are pastoral and close to the poor and marginalized. These men are firmly committed to the social teaching of the church, without necessarily being liberal on hot-button issues of concern to progressive Catholics in the West.

Dozens of Post-it Notes with prayers and requests from young people are seen on the wall at the Synod of Bishops' booth in a park in Lisbon, Portugal, during World Youth Day Aug. 1-6. (OSV News/Courtesy of the Synod Secretariat)

Sep 14, 2023

Is synodality just another word for collegiality?

As a way of being church, synodality might be thought of as collegiality resurrected, but without all the baggage that encumbered collegiality over the years following Vatican II, writes Fr. Thomas Reese.

A young man puts his head through a cutout frame to take a photo "hugging" Pope Francis at the Synod of Bishops' booth in a park in Lisbon, Portugal, during World Youth Day Aug. 3. (CNS/Courtesy of the Synod Secretariat)

Sep 07, 2023

The synod's priorities are communion, participation, mission — not who can be priests

If we continued as usual with just different people in charge, then we missed the revolution Pope Francis is calling for, says Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese.

Rows of solar panels on a solar farm. (Unsplash/Creative Commons/Mariana Proença)

Aug 18, 2023

On global warming, yes, there is hope

The good news is there are ways to reduce and eliminate the growth in global warming; the bad news is I am not sure we will implement them fast enough.

A digital billboard displays an unofficial temperature, July 17, 2023, in downtown Phoenix. Millions of people around the Southwest are living through a historic heat wave. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Aug 10, 2023

Global warming is here and it is getting worse

Fr. Thomas Reese: We are like frogs in a pot of water being slowly cooked as the temperature rises. We don’t have the sense to get out of the pot, let alone turn off the heat.

Lucia Bozzi, Venerando Marano, Giuseppe Pignatone and Carlo Bonzano, judges of the Vatican City State court, listen to proceedings March 16, 2023, during the trial of Cardinal Angelo Becciu and nine other defendants on charges of financial malfeasance. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Aug 03, 2023

Vatican financial scandals: Corruption, stupidity or both?

The Vatican response to financial scandal must not be one-off dealing with the symptoms. The deeply tangled tale of the current trial must be followed by systemic reform and effective oversight, writes Fr. Thomas Reese.

The comic book character Batman is seen depicted in street graffiti. (Pixabay/Luiz Gomes)

Aug 01, 2023

We want God to be like Batman

Deep in our hearts, we want God to beat up our enemies and punish evildoers. We want a God who gets mad and gets even. But that is not the God of Jesus, writes Fr. Thomas Reese.

Solar panels are installed on the roof of Faith Community Church in Greensboro, N.C., in May 2015. (Courtesy of NC WARN)

Jul 26, 2023

Billions of federal dollars available for churches and nonprofits to go green

Cardinals enter the "Pro Eligendo Pontifice" Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on March 12, 2013, at the Vatican. (RNS photo/Andrea Sabbadini)

Jul 18, 2023

Francis now has the cardinals he needs for the next conclave. Is it enough?

Since he was elected in 2013, Pope Francis has been remaking the College of Cardinals in preparation for the next conclave that will elect his successor. But in conclaves there are no guarantees.

Pope Francis greets visitors in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican to pray the Angelus on June 29. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Jul 14, 2023

Pope Francis appoints men and women to build a synodal church

Lately, Pope Francis has been busy appointing men and women who support his vision of a synodal church to positions where it matters. These appointments show that Francis now understands that "personnel is policy."

The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, D.C., Oct. 2, 2022. (CNS/Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)

Jul 06, 2023

Supreme Court's conservative majority is making new rules for minorities

If the U.S. Constitution is what five Supreme Court justices say it is, who controls the presidency and the Senate really matters, writes Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican June 29. (CNS/Lola Gomez)

Jun 30, 2023

Why the synod on synodality is confusing to American Catholics

If an American were in charge of running the pope's synod, it would be very different, says Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese.

A recent Pew study found that Protestants are much more satisfied with their preaching and music than are Catholics.

Jun 23, 2023

This just in: Catholic churches have the worst preaching and music in the US

Protestants are much more satisfied with their preaching and music than are Catholics, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

Former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he departs after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023, March 4 at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. (AP/Alex Brandon)

Jun 14, 2023

Catholic bishops don't support Trump's lies. Is silence enough?

The bishops have avoided being sucked into partisan politics at the cost of supporting democracy, argues Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese.

The fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore in November 2022. (RNS/Screengrab)

Jun 12, 2023

What should the US Catholic bishops talk about at their meeting in Florida?

Topics foremost in the public's mind are not on the agenda: the war in Ukraine, the treatment of transgender people, global warming, the culture wars over public education, economic inequality, political divisions and the rise of hate groups.