Thomas Reese

The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit priest, is a Senior Analyst at RNS. Previously he was a columnist at the National Catholic Reporter (2015-17) and an associate editor (1978-85) and editor in chief (1998-2005) at America magazine. He was also a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University (1985-98 & 2006-15) where he wrote Archbishop, A Flock of Shepherds, and Inside the Vatican. Earlier he worked as a lobbyist for tax reform. He has a doctorate in political science from the University of California Berkeley. He entered the Jesuits in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1974 after receiving a M.Div from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.

All Stories by Thomas Reese

Can Pope Francis bring peace to Ukraine?

By Thomas Reese — May 31, 2023
(RNS) — The pope’s refusal to cheer either side in this war gives him credibility as mediator.

Playing chicken over debt and spending bills

By Thomas Reese — May 23, 2023
(RNS) — Would that Congress could look seriously at government programs to make them better and more efficient rather than grandstanding for the media and their partisan base.

EWTN, once ‘the work of the devil,’ now gets blessing from pope

By Thomas Reese — May 16, 2023
(RNS)— Critics of EWTN, even the pope, need to be nuanced.

Fighting inflation with one hand tied behind your back

By Thomas Reese — May 9, 2023
(RNS) — Congress must act decisively to rationalize the budgetary process.

The resurrection changes everything

By Thomas Reese — May 1, 2023
(RNS) — What Jesus' resurrection did to the disciples shows us what impact it should have on us.

Earth Day is a day of fear and hope

By Thomas Reese — April 17, 2023
(RNS) — Thanks to Pope Francis, the Catholic Church has gotten on the right side of history in fighting climate change.

Pope Benedict ‘closed’ Limbo and no one complained

By Thomas Reese — April 11, 2023
(RNS) — The church can never admit that something it was teaching or doing for centuries was dumb.

Christ continues to be crucified in today’s world

By Thomas Reese — April 4, 2023
(RNS) — Holy Week is a time to remember that what Jesus suffered is still going on in our world today.

Help! I have been replaced by an AI

By Thomas Reese — March 27, 2023
(RNS) — An artificially intelligent column on AI, by AI.

The lesson of Silicon Bank: Regulations protect good businesses as well as consumers

By Thomas Reese — March 20, 2023
(RNS) — Libertarian capitalists are hypocrites. They hate government regulations, but when they are in trouble, they expect the government to bail them out.

A reading list for seminarians and other Catholic conservatives

By Thomas Reese — March 14, 2023
(RNS) — Books changed my life. They can change yours too.

The legacy of a decade of Pope Francis

By Thomas Reese — March 6, 2023
(RNS) — Francis has opened windows that are difficult to close.

Is the FBI coming after traditional Catholics?

By Thomas Reese — March 2, 2023
(RNS) — The FBI is worried violent extremists will exploit and recruit radical-traditionalist Catholics.

What does it mean to be holy?

By Thomas Reese — February 20, 2023
(RNS) — It is not easy to be a follower of Jesus. Anyone who thinks it is, is simply not listening to him.

Trashing Pope Francis won’t make Congo’s complex problems simpler

By Thomas Reese — February 13, 2023
(RNS) — The pontiff also blamed the country's leaders for its problems.
Page 4 of 26