Thomas J. Reese

Thomas J. Reese, SJ, (born 1 November 1945) is an American Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, author, and journalist. He is a senior analyst at National Catholic Reporter, and a former editor-in-chief of the weekly Catholic magazine America.

Reese entered the Jesuit Order in 1962 and was ordained to priesthood in 1974. He has a Ph.D. in political science from University of California, Berkeley. He was an associate editor of America 1978-1985, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center from 1985-1998, editor-in-chief at America 1998-2005 and returned to Woodstock 2006, where he stayed to 2013. He was appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Fr. Reese resigned after seven years as the editor of America due to pressure from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Vatican. Over a period of five years, the congregation objected to various editorial decisions made by Reese concerning certain issues addressed in the magazine, notably priestly celibacy and the ordination of women.

Following his resignation, Reese spent a year-long sabbatical at Santa Clara University before being named a fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center in Washington, D.C.

Publications

Books

• The Politics of Taxation. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1980.
• Archbishop: Inside the Power Structure of the American Catholic Church, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989.
• Episcopal Conferences: Historical, Canonical, and Theological Studies (editor), Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1989.
• The Universal Catechism Reader (editor), San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1990.
• A Flock of Shepherds: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Kansas City, MO.: Sheed & Ward, 1992.
• Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church, Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University, 1996.

  In Het Vaticaan: De Organisatie van de Macht in de Katholieke Kerk, Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Bert Bakker, 1998.

  Im Inneren des Vatikan: Politik und Organisation der katholischen Kirche, Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer, 1998.

  O Vaticano por dentro: A Política e a Organização da Igreja Católica, Bauru, Brasil: Editora da Universidade do Sagrado Coração, 1999.

  No Interior do Vaticano: A Política e Organização da Igreja Católica, Portugal: Publicações Europa-América, Lda., 1998.

Monographs

• Communication II: Decision-Making Examined, Jesuit Self-Study California/Oregon Provinces, 1969.
• The Generation Gap, Jesuit Self-Study California/Oregon Provinces, 1971.
• 95th Congress Rated on Tax Reform, Arlington, VA: Taxation with Representation, 1978.
• Co-Discipleship in Action: Bishops and Laity in Dialogue, Woodstock Theological Center, 1991.

References

• Thomas Reese, presentation at National Catholic Reporter
• Roberts, Tom and John L. Allen, Jr., Editor of Jesuits' America magazine forced to resign under Vatican pressure, National Catholic Reporter, May 6, 2005. Accessed 5 November 2005, 21 October 2914
• America magazine: Publications by Thomas J. Reese, SJ