Thomas Massaro, SJ

Thomas Massaro, S.J., is Professor of Moral Theology at Fordham University. A Jesuit priest of the Northeast Province, he served as professor of moral theology at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at Boston College, and at Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, where he also served as Dean.

Father Massaro holds a doctorate in Christian social ethics from Emory University. His nine books and over one hundred published articles are devoted to Catholic social teaching and its recommendations for public policies oriented to social justice, peace, worker rights and poverty alleviation. A former columnist for America magazine, he writes and lectures frequently on such topics as the ethics of globalization, peacemaking, environmental concern, the role of conscience in religious participation in public life, and developing a spirituality of justice. His most recent book analyzes the social teachings of Pope Francis.

Besides teaching courses on many aspects of Catholic social teaching and the role of religion in public life, he seeks to maintain a commitment to hands-on social activism. He served a six-year term on the Peace Commission of the City of Cambridge and is a co-founder and national steering committee member of Catholic Scholars for Worker Justice. He enjoys speaking to popular as well as professional audiences on many topics regarding faith-based social justice advocacy.

PhD, Emory University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Division of Religion, Dept. of Ethics and Society 

STL, Weston Jesuit School of Theology 

MDiv, Weston Jesuit School of Theology, with Distinction 

MaHum (Philosophy), Fordham University

BA, Amherst College: Economics, Political Science and Religion

Catholic social teaching and poverty alleviation

The role of religion in American public life

The ethics of economic globalization

Faith-based approaches to addressing economic inequality

Spiritualities of social justice

Books:

Catholic Social Teaching and United States Welfare Reform (Liturgical Press, 1998)

Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action (Sheed and Ward, 2000).

American Catholic Social Teaching, co-editor with Thomas A. Shannon (Liturgical Press, 2002).

Catholic Perspectives on Peace and War, co-author with Thomas A. Shannon (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2003).

United States Welfare Policy: A Catholic Response (Georgeto­wn University Press. 2007).

Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action: Classroom Edition (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2008).

Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action: Second Classroom Edition (Rowman and Littlefield, 2012).

Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action: Third Classroom Edition (Rowman and Littlefield, 2015).

Mercy in Action: The Social Teachings of Pope Francis (Rowman and Littlefield, 2018).

Articles:

“The First Jesuit Pope: The Contribution of his Jesuit Charism to his Political Views,” in When Theology and Politics Meet: Pope Francis as a Global Actor, ed. Alynna Lyon, Christine Gustafson and Paul C. Manuel (Palgrave MacMillan, 2017). 

“The Role of Conscience in Catholic Participation in Politics since Vatican II,” pp. 65-83 in Erin Brigham, ed., The Church in the Modern World: Fifty Years After Gaudium et Spes (Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books. 2015).

“Fighting Poverty and Providing Safety Nets: The Agenda of 'Economic Justice for All' and Where We Are Now,” pp. 172-188 in The Almighty and the Dollar: Reflections on Economic Justice For All, ed. Mark Allman, (Winona, MN: Anselm Academic Press, 2012).

“The Social Question in the Papacy of Pope Leo XIII,” pp. 143-161 in the volume The Papacy Since 1500: From Italian Prince to Universal Pastor, ed. James Corkery and Thomas Worcester (Cambridge University Press, 2010).

Unfinished Business: Revisiting Welfare Reform,” Commonweal, 29 Feb. 2008, pp. 8-10.

“Patriotism Transformed by Terror?,” pp. 205-23 in God and Country? Diverse Perspectives onChristianity and Patriotism, edited by Michael G. Long and Tracy Wenger Sadd (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).

“Catholic Bishops and Politicians: Concerns about Recent Developments,” Josephinum Journal of Theology vol. 12, no. 2 (Summer/Fall 2005): 268-87.

“From Industrialization to Globalization: Church and Social Ministry,” pp. 41-57 in the volume Living the Catholic Social Tradition: Cases and Commentary, ed. Kathleen Maas Weigert and Alexia K. Kelley (Rowman and Littlefield Publishing, 2005).

“Judging the Juggernaut: Toward an Ethical Evaluation of Globalization,” Journal of Catholic Social Thought vol. 2, no. 1 (winter 2005): 249-58.

“A Preferential Option for the Poor: Historical and Theological Foundations,” pp. 69-92 in the volume Jesuit Health Sciences and the Promotion of Justice: An Invitation to a Discussion edited by Judith Lee Kissell and Jos Welie (Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Marquette University Press, 2004).

“United States Welfare Policy in the New Millennium: Catholic Perspectives on What American Society Has Learned About Low-Income Families,” Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics vol. 23, no. 2 (fall 2003): 87-118.

“Social Policy After September 11," America, 4 March 2002, pp. 16-17.

“Compassion in Action: A Letter to President Bush on Social Policy” co-authored with Mary Jo Bane, America, 12 March 2001, pp. 12-15.

“A Welfare Primer: What's Happened and What's Likely to Happen,” Commonweal, vol. 123, no. 12 (14 June 1996): pp. 16-19.