Michael Sean Winters

A letter from two Vatican officials gives the bishops — and us — a primer on ecclesiology, to clarify the bishops' role in the process and how they can best lead and guide it, says columnist Michael Sean Winters.

It's hard to take the GOP seriously, with Reps. George Santos' and Marjorie Taylor Greene's shenanigans, says columnist Michael Sean Winters.

Columnist Michael Sean Winters sees evidence of an inflection point in Francis' pontificate, as conservative criticisms of the pope increasingly ring hollow and Francis seems to be increasing the pace of change.

Despite differences between the Trump and Biden discoveries, some voters will simply conclude that all politicians are corrupt or incompetent. That hurts a party that believes government can do good things.

Our Catholic faith has something to say about how to address economic inequality, but it's a voice not always heard at the World Economic Forum, says columnist Michael Sean Winters.

Columnist Michael Sean Winters is concerned about "intellectual fads" at Catholic institutions of higher education.

Pell, and those who are picking up his mantle, think they — and only they — have the solution to what ails the church and the world. But that hubris has hurt the church's credibility, says columnist Michael Sean Winters.

Columnist Michael Sean Winters takes a look back at Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize speech and considers nonviolence's challenges to just war theory.
 

Cardinal George Pell's legacy as a lion defending the church is not a match for these times, says columnist Michael Sean Winters.

The Catholic Church should be helping President Biden shape public opinion on the issue of immigration reform, argues columnist Michael Sean Winters.

Columnist Michael Sean Winters looks ahead to the intersection between politics and religion in the next year.

The trajectory of Pope Benedict XVI's legacy was set at his funeral, says columnist Michael Sean Winters.

Would-be conservative defenders of the Ratzingerian legacy ignore the obvious points of continuity between Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, writes Michael Sean Winters.

The synodal process, anti-Francis sentiment and the U.S. hierarchy are the subject of columnist Michael Sean Winters' predictions about church news in the new year.

Pope Benedict will be remembered as a profoundly intelligent and prayerful man, called to leadership during a time of turmoil in a church, who was not really suited for such rough waters.

The political stories of the year, according to columnist Michael Sean Winters, intersected with religion, but not always in positive ways.

In the first part of his year-end summaries of 2022's news in the church and politics, Michael Sean Winters sees significant shifts in the intellectual and ecclesial landscape.

In Michael Sean Winters' last links column, he rounds up the latest news. In the new year, look for a weekly newsletter that does much of the same.

The historical record provided by the Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is clear. Donald Trump is an anti-American thug.

Lying seems to be bipartisan, according to The Washington Post's Pinocchio awards.