Michael Sean Winters

Children dressed in traditional clothing arrive in procession for a Spanish-language Mass celebrated in honor of Our Lady of Suyapa, patroness of Honduras, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City Feb. 5, 2023. (OSV News/Gregory Shemitz) 

As we continue to debate the role of religion, and specifically of Protestant Christianity, in the American story, we must look to the historical roots of the discussions, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

The issue of polarization within the church and within the country is a vexing one, but the discussion did represent some fine hors d'oeuvres for any effort that aims to ameliorate the toxicity of the culture.

The challenge for the Democrats is to judiciously link popular local incumbents, who are seen to be working for the people, with the "return to normalcy" Joe Biden promised but has not been able to deliver.

NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters' childhood Latin teacher shares the struggles as well as the joys of her life in this compelling and consoling memoir.

The document clearly and repeatedly affirms the dignity of every human person. These critics seem to suggest it is impossible to affirm the dignity of the person without also accepting the critics' theories.

Asking Commonweal to retract a passage in an article Word on Fire didn't like raises a larger issue: that a diocesan bishop, armed with a personal media empire, thinks it is appropriate to stifle public discussion.

It is impossible to know if The Pillar was a willing accomplice in the hit job it published, or if it was simply ignorant of the malice and ignorance of its unnamed sources, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

We all use ideologies in one way or another to make sense of our world, and we need to find ways to discuss that world with people who possess different ideological reference points, writes Michael Sean Winters.

Jason Blakely's Lost in Ideology: Interpreting Modern Political Life helps us better make sense of this crazy political world in which we live, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

A just society needs to enact laws that keep people from harming themselves and others, especially when such harm increases the likelihood that still more people will be harmed, writes Michael Sean Winters.

Going to areas that do not lean toward one's own party is healthy for the party, exposing its candidates to the concerns of people with whom they do not normally interact, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

Catholicism is still the largest denomination in the country, but the ethnic and geographic distribution of the Catholic population has changed.

The Cook Political Report states that there are 11 toss-up races in which the Democrat is the incumbent and 11 in which the Republican is, notes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

Michael Sean Winters has advice for U.S. bishops ahead of this year's elections: "Does what I intend to say or do help unite the Body of Christ? And if the answer is no, it is better to say nothing at all." 

By aligning itself with Trump, the pro-life cause finds itself in a long line of people and causes damaged irreparably by hitching their bandwagon to the former president, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

We are called to define our Christian ethical vision by looking above the belt and at the needs of our brothers and sisters, as well as considering issues of bioethical significance, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

The No Labels group suffered from magical thinking. They thought they could turn Americans' dissatisfaction with politics in general and with the 2024 candidates in particular into an opening for a third party.

Mainstream reporters who want to write about religion need to do better than traffic in ill-informed caricatures, says NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

The Resurrection imparted a worldview to the early Christian community, and fidelity to that worldview remains a hallmark of the Catholic Church.