Washington, USA - A prominent Jesuit priest who often appears on US television as a religion expert was pressured by the Vatican to resign from his post as chief editor of a US Roman Catholic magazine, US newspapers said.
Father Thomas Reese, who edited America magazine for the past seven years, was forced to resign Friday for publishing articles critical of Roman Catholic church positions, according to The New York Times, which cited American Catholic officials.
America magazine released a statement announcing that Reese, 60, would be replaced on June 1, but the publication did not explain the reasons for his departure.
"I look forward to taking a sabbatical while my provincial and I determine the next phase of my Jesuit ministry," Reese said in the statement.
According to the independent National Catholic Reporter, the resignation came after five years of pressure from the Vatican's top doctrinal authority, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which was headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger until he became Pope Benedict XVI last month.
The order to dismiss Reese was given in mid-March, when Ratzinger still headed the congregation, according to the Times.
The articles that prompted Vatican scrutiny had offered more than one side on controversial issues such as same-sex marriage, condom use to combat
AIDS and whether communion should be given to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, US newspapers said.