Michael Sean Winters

Taken together, the eight appointments signal a shift away from the opposition or indifference to Francis' reforms that has been too common among some bishops in the U.S., writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

We strive for peace, but history teaches us that sometimes war is necessary. It is impossible yet to know if the Israeli and U.S. airstrikes obliterated Iran's nuclear potential. We can all hope it did.

"It is time we stop pretending that economic health can be measured by GDP," writes NCR's Michael Sean Winters.

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold a Tennessee law that bans certain treatments for transgender minors was the correct legal conclusion, no matter what you think of the law itself, says Michael Sean Winters.

"The flames of indignation that Trump has whipped up may end up consuming him and his signature campaign to deport millions of our immigrant brothers and sisters," writes NCR's Michael Sean Winters.
 

If you don't like Trump, his military parade and sending of the National Guard are evidence of his yearning for dictatorial powers. If you do like him, they seem harmless and, with the guard deployment, necessary.

NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters admits he hurled a throwaway line at Bishop Robert Barron and he is a substantial person. "He deserves more than what reads like a Twitter rant," Winters writes.

Tensions between protesters and law enforcement in LA are ominous. Opposing indiscriminate raids on migrants is necessary and just, but people rightly fear President Trump is only looking for an excuse to claim emergency powers.

The new pope seems remarkably unflustered by his election, aware of the enormity of the change that has happened to him, but not the least overwhelmed by it.   

Many people have looked at Pope Leo XIV's discrete decisions as tea leaves about his pontificate. It is smarter to highlight things he has said in this first month that offer an inkling as to how he views his ministry.

Poles went to the polls and elected Karol Nawrocki of the conservative Law and Justice Party as Poland's president by the narrowest of margins. His election is a bellwether for populism, says Michael Sean Winters.

President Donald Trump's ignorance of history keeps him from acknowledging the high cost that was paid in the last century because "America First" prejudices kept our nation from defending Western civilization in Europe until it was almost too late. 

Michael Sean Winters reviews Catholic Fundamentalism in America, which highlights the degree to which various groups of arch-Catholics have lost sight of foundational Catholic ecclesiology and practice.

Fundamentalism is a quintessentially American form of religious expression, but one we associate almost exclusively with Protestantism. In a groundbreaking new book, Jesuit Fr. Mark Massa looks at the Catholic side.

Memorial Day is no longer really about memory, at least not for most of us. God willing, there will be no more wars, but as long as there are, the whole nation should fight them. Class distinctions should not matter.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem incorrectly defined "habeas corpus," a cornerstone of jurisprudence in Western civilization.

This "big beautiful bill" is big, but it isn't beautiful. It is unfair, cutting programs that help struggling families, to provide tax cuts to rich people who don't even need it.

Pope Leo XIV is the first member of the Augustinian order to be elected pope. How the Augustinian influence shapes his pontificate will be a major consideration for us all. We saw it in Leo's sermon at his inaugural Mass May 18.

Of course, we are all eager to learn more about the new pope, but this effort to attach significance to things that may be ephemeral or accidental is a fool's errand.

We now know why Pope Leo XIV chose the name he did.