Signs of the Times
The Catholic Church needs to play a positive role in this year’s election
By Thomas Reese — January 30, 2024
(RNS) — The Catholic partisan divide provides an opportunity for the church to model proper civic behavior.
Jonah is a prophet for today
By Thomas Reese — January 22, 2024
(RNS) — God sending Jonah to Nineveh would be like telling a modern-day rabbi to preach in Iran or Gaza.
Capitalizing on his teachings on sex, Pope Francis’ critics shame themselves
By Thomas Reese — January 16, 2024
(RNS) — Jesus didn’t spend his time obsessing over people’s sex lives.
Let the synodal consultations continue
By Thomas Reese — January 8, 2024
(RNS) — Diocesan consultations for the October 2024 session of the synod must be completed by April 8.
Let’s hold a conclave on Capitol Hill
By Thomas Reese — January 3, 2024
(RNS) — Instead of forcing Congress to do nothing, a conclave would force members of Congress to do their job.
The Vatican financial trial is finally over. What did we learn?
By Thomas Reese — December 19, 2023
(RNS) — The good news is the financial scandals became public and were not covered up by the Vatican as was the practice in the past.
In Advent God comforts us so we can comfort others
By Thomas Reese — December 13, 2023
(RNS) — God does not comfort us so we can simply be comfortable. God comforts us so we can comfort others.
When can the pope fire a bishop?
By Thomas Reese — December 5, 2023
(RNS) — It depends on whether the bishop is serving a diocese or filling another role.
In a world where Christ is king, authoritarian leaders can only be antichrists
By Thomas Reese — November 27, 2023
(RNS) — Today's anti-democratic leaders are promising to deliver justice by any means necessary.
US bishops fumble the ball on global warming and synodality
By Thomas Reese — November 16, 2023
(RNS) — One can only wonder how different the bishops' meeting would have been if they had consulted in a synodal fashion with the laity.
Fifteen hidden gems in the Synod on Synodality report
By Thomas Reese — November 7, 2023
(RNS) — We can miss important opportunities for church reform if we only focus on the hot-button issues.
Synod on Synodality report is disappointing but not surprising
By Thomas Reese — October 30, 2023
(RNS) — For Francis it was never about the hot-button topics.
Francis wants the synod in every parish. Here’s how to bring it to yours.
By Thomas Reese — October 23, 2023
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Such a process is a far cry from a parish meeting presided over by the pastor who announces and defends his preordained decisions.
Cardinal Hollerich guides synod with a gentle hand
By Thomas Reese — October 20, 2023
(RNS) — Hollerich hopes the synod can develop a road map for worldwide consultation before the next session of the synod in October 2024.
Covering synods for the media is not easy
By Thomas Reese — October 16, 2023
(RNS) — Pope Francis does not like the Western press, which he thinks focuses on hot-button issues.
Thomas Reese
Signs of the Times
The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit priest, has been a Senior Analyst at RNS since 2017. 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.