Thomas Reese

Signs of the Times: There has been a lot of clerical hand-wringing of late about Catholics who don’t believe what the church teaches about Christ's presence in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. 

Signs of the Times: I am afraid that others may soon respond to mass shootings that same way I do, the same way we do to other gun violence — ignore it and move on. No matter how horrible something is, if it is repeated time and time again, we get accustomed to it.

Signs of the Times: American Catholics are almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, which means the church can either self-destruct or bridge the partisan divide.

Signs of the Times: The purpose of this memo is to inform you of an upcoming raid to arrest a woman living in New York City who we plan to send back to her country of origin, France.

Signs of the Times: In appointing seven women to the Vatican congregation that oversees religious orders July 9, Pope Francis achieved a double win. In one stroke, he has advanced both the role of women in the church and the reform of the Vatican Curia.

Signs of the Times: Because of the apocalyptic consequences of global warming, many are hoping for a miracle from God or science to save us from ourselves. Maggots may be part of that miracle.

Signs of the Times: Without trust, human cooperation is impossible. Without trust, people refuse to cooperate and instead engage in struggles over power because they fear what will happen if their opponents have it.

Signs of the Times: Although Francis places a very high value on celibacy, he is also a pragmatist who recognizes that indigenous communities are being denied the Eucharist and the sacraments because they don’t have priests.

In response to recent accusations of episcopal misconduct, the U.S. Catholic bishops have adopted a process for reporting and investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and coverup by bishops.

Signs of the Times: On the plane returning to Rome from Romania, Pope Francis made an extraordinary statement on the role of theology in ecumenical relations at his press conference June 2.

Much ink has been spilled describing the priest in the BBC/Amazon Studios series "Fleabag" as cool. The hard-drinking, foulmouthed priest joined the show’s second season as a foil for Fleabag, the main character.

The 20-plus candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination are rightly focusing on the inequitable distribution of income and wealth in the United States. Not only are CEOs receiving salaries that dwarf their underlings', the rich (whether through inheritance or earnings) now control a disproportionate share of wealth.

Signs of the Times: In an article in The Atlantic's June issue titled "Abolish the Priesthood," James Carroll provides thought-provoking analysis of the state of the Catholic Church, recounting the history of the sex abuse crisis in the church with special focus on Boston, Ireland, the Pennsylvania grand jury report and Theodore McCarrick.

Signs of the Times: The House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, which would strengthen bans on discrimination against LGBTQ persons by adding "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the definition of "sex" in federal civil rights laws. The measure got the support of NETWORK, a social justice lobby led by Catholic nuns, but was opposed by the U.S. Catholic bishops.

Signs of the Times: Some Democrats in Congress who now make the rules in the House of Representatives have proposed dropping "so help me God" from the oath recited before someone testifies before a legislative committee.

Signs of the Times: The new norms dealing with cover-ups are a good first step, but in civil society as in the church, good laws are not enough. Enforcement is also necessary if children are to be protected and survivors of abuse are to have justice.

If there is any truth to the leaks concerning the Vatican's forthcoming proposal to reform the Curia, it is going to be a disappointment and a disaster.

The cardinals who voted in conclave to elect Pope Francis did so hoping he would reform the scandal-plagued Vatican Curia and make it more responsive to the concerns of the universal church. Six years later, his reform proposals are reportedly to be promulgated at the end of June, although they will probably be leaked earlier. Will they satisfy the critics of the Curia?

Signs of the Times: As fire devastates the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, the building is as much a symbol of the recent history of the Catholic Church in Europe as it once was a symbol of the church's power and cultural supremacy. 

The recent essay on clergy sexual abuse by Benedict XVI shows why it was such a good idea for him to resign as pope. In the letter released last week, he shows how out of touch he is with the causes of the abuse crisis.