Thomas Massaro, SJ

Thomas Massaro, S.J., is Professor of Moral Theology at Fordham University. A Jesuit priest of the East 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. Six years after his arrival at Fordham, he was awarded the McGinley Chair of Religion and Society in 2024.

Father Massaro holds a doctorate in Christian social ethics from Emory University. His eleven 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. Two of his most recent books analyze the social teachings and moral leadership 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

The contributions of Pope Francis to social ethics

Peacebuilding and conflict transformation

Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action: Fourth Classroom Edition (Rowman and Littlefield, 2024).

“Hospitality in Christian Traditions: A Key Virtue and its Applications,” in Welcoming the Stranger: Abrahamic Hospitality and Contemporary Implications, ed. Rachel Stern and Ori Z. Soltes (Fordham University Press, 2024).

“The Environmental Ethics of Pope Francis: Parsing Key Terms and Claims in Laudato Si’," Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory 23, no. 1 (Spring 2024): 64-73, https://www.jcrt.org/archives/23.1/Massaro.pdf.

“Pope Francis’s Social Ethics: Advocacy for Economic Justice and Equity,” in The Moral Vision of Pope Francis: Expanding the U.S. Reception of the First Jesuit Pope, ed. Conor M. Kelly, and Kristin E. Heyer (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, June 2024), 81-97.

Pope Francis as Moral Leader: Ethicist, Discerner, Communicator, and Advocate for Social Justice (Paulist Press, 2023).

“What Precisely Did Pope Francis Contribute? Parsing Key Terms and Claims in Laudato Si',” Social Sciences special issue of MDPI journal titled “Social and Environmental Justice,” 12, no. 10 552 (October 2023), https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/10/552/.

“Pope Francis: Renewing Roman Catholic Approaches to Peace,” MST Review (journal of the Maryhill School of Theology in the Philippines) 24, no. 2 (December 2022): 96-130.

“Pope Francis, the Ethicist: Ignatian Roots, Jesuit Priorities, Contemporary Challenges,” Review for Religious 2, no. 2 (Summer 2022): 173-91.

“The Peace Advocacy of Pope Francis: Jesuit Perspectives,” Journal of Jesuit Studies 8, no. 4 (September 2021): 523-46.

“Justice in the World, Then and Now: How Pope Francis Carries Forward the Agenda of the 1971 Synod of Bishops,” Journal of Catholic Social Thought 18, no. 2 (2021): 161-82.

“Social Welfare and Catholic Social Teaching: Foundational Theological Principles for Case Studies,” Religions special issue “Social Welfare and Catholic Social Teaching,” ed. Paul Christopher Manuel and Miguel Glatzer, April 21, 2021, https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/5/288/htm

“Ignatian Spirituality and the Legacy of Pedro Arrupe, S.J.,” in Journeying with Pope Francis: Roots and Challenges, ed. Alfredo Romagosa and Sixto Garcia (Miami: Ediciones Universal, 2020), 45-60.

“‘He Drinks from His Own Wells’: The Jesuit Roots of the Ethical Teachings of Pope Francis,” in Pope Francis: A Voice for Mercy, Justice, Love, and Care for the Earth, ed. Barbara E. Wall and Massimo Faggioli (Orbis Books, 2019), 81-101.

“The Option for the Poor and Vulnerable,” in The Liturgy and Catholic Social Teaching: Participation in Worship and the World (Liturgy Training Publications, 2019), 43-54.

“Pope Francis on Overcoming Exclusion: A Theological Vision with Economic and Social Implications,” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 78, no. 4 (September 2019): 865-93.

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

“The Liberating Message of Medellín and U.S. Jesuits,” in The Grace of Medellín: History, Theology and Legacy: Reflections on the Significance of Medellín for the Church in the United States, ed. Margaret Eletta Guider, Felix Palazzi and O. Ernesto Valiente (Convivium Press, 2018), 241-255.

“‘He Drinks from His Own Wells’: The Jesuit Roots of the Ethical Teachings of Pope Francis,” Journal of Catholic Social Thought, 15, no. 2 (Summer 2018): 353-73.

“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), 41-57. 

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

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

“Hope for a More Just Future: Wisdom from Catholic Social Teaching,” in Hope: Promise, Possibility and Fulfillment, ed. Richard Lennan and Nancy Pineda-Madrid (Paulist Press, 2013), 155-167.

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

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

“For God and Country: Patriotism and Religious Identity,” in For the City and the World: Conversations in Catholic Studies and Social Thought: Lane Center Lecture 2005-2010 (University of San Francisco Press, 2010), 86-99.

“Sabbath and the Common Good: A Contemporary Catholic Appraisal,” in Sunday, Sabbath and the Weekend: Managing Time in a Global Culture, ed. Edward O’Flaherty and Rodney L. Petersen with Timothy Norton (Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 134-138.

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

“Ethics Appropriate for an Empire: A Question Whose Time Has Come,” Political Theology 10, no. 3 (July 2009): 497-512.

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

"Unfinished Business: Revisiting Welfare Reform,” Commonweal, February 2008, 8-10.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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.

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

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

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

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

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

“A Welfare Primer: What's Happened and What's Likely to Happen,” Commonweal, June 1996, 16-19.