Michael Sean Winters

Changing the church's discipline on celibacy is both easier and harder than other proposed changes to the structures of the church's ministry, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

In his World Day of Peace message, Pope Francis has issued a warning about artificial intelligence, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. He has framed the problems and offered a path forward that is humane.

This year will bring more polarization within the U.S. church, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. but maybe we'll see a shift among the hierarchy from those who oppose the pope to those who embrace him. 

While the presidential race will capture the media spotlight, contests for control of the U.S. House and Senate might prove just as important for the future of democracy, argues NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

The key dynamics in the U.S. church in 2023 were ongoing papal reform efforts, especially synodality, with continued opposition but also some signs of hope, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

The sad fact is that Catholic social teaching could improve virtually every issue facing the nation, but it only broke through here and there in 2023, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

It's that time of the year. Santa has drawn up his list of who has been naughty and who has been nice, and so has NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

No one knows if this step the pope has taken will prove to be the first of many steps or the last, whether the synod next year will encourage additional movement or if it will shut it down, writes Michael Sean Winters.

When Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral burned, we wept because of our love for Mary. What graces might be waiting to be received when Notre Dame is reopened next year?

Today's Republican Party seems unwilling to risk anything to support democracy here at home, so perhaps it is not surprising that they are willing to abandon Ukraine, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

No one knows whether recent congressional testimony on antisemitism will serve as a tipping point for academia. But those in Catholic higher education should see the highly conspicuous meltdown as a huge opportunity.

The economy is a big part of the story, and the Biden campaign's "economic messaging needs a lot of improvement."  

It's likely only a matter of time before the four presidential candidates on the debate stage Dec. 6 join the ranks of the also-rans. They have no one but themselves to blame, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

The death of a Palestinian civilian from an Israeli airstrike is just as much of a loss as the death of an Israeli civilian on Oct. 7. The one is also an act of desecration because of the intention of the perpetrators, writes Michael Sean Winters.

Notre Dame theologian John Cavadini's article on the Synod of Bishops' synthesis document raises important questions about important issues and does so without demonizing anyone or rejecting the synodal process itself.

Linking the removal of Cardinal Burke's perks to the removal of Bishop Strickland from the Tyler Diocese makes it seem like the problem is Francis, when the outrageous behavior is coming from the two American prelates.

It is less important that countries pledge themselves to some far-off goals that they may or may not meet. It is more important that they start doing something now.

The fact that integralists command a following is frightening and requires everyone to learn more about why the movement is so dangerous. Kevin Vallier's book All the Kingdoms of the World is not a bad place to start. 

All the Kingdoms of the World: On Radical Religious Alternatives to Liberalism is an important read because none of us yet knows how influential integralists will become and because Vallier takes the movement seriously. 

There is no group in American society with whom it is easier to share a conversation about Catholic social teaching than the leaders of the American labor movement, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.