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What the next pope faces father 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.
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Life and works
Reese entered the Jesuit Order in 1962 and was ordained to the 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, and editor-in-chief at America 1998-2005, He resigned from America in 2005 and spent a sabbatical year at Santa Clara University, where he continues to contribute as a visiting scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
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. On Reese's resignation, widespread media carried statements of regret that a voice from the loyal opposition to some current Church policy was leaving in silence.
In 2006 he returned as a fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center in Washington, D.C. Reese has been writing for the National Catholic Reporter since 2013, and is senior analyst there. He was appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2014 and in 2016 was elected chair of the Commission.