Distinctly Catholic

Michael Sean Winters analyzes the worlds of religion and politics and the always fascinating estuary where the two collide.

People wait in line to view court proceedings on the first day with newly sworn-in U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh Oct. 9 in Washington. (CNS/Reuters/Joshua Roberts)

Midterm elections will be a referendum on Trump, not Kavanaugh

by Michael Sean Winters

Oct 15, 2018

Distinctly Catholic: Anger over the nomination controversy may still motivate voters, but Democrats should be sowing doubts about Trump's elitism in working-class precincts.

Wuerl hounded from office for becoming face of abuse crisis

by Michael Sean Winters

Oct 12, 2018

Distinctly Catholic: Cardinal Donald Wuerl was a link between the two scandals involving Theodore McCarrick and the Pennsylvania grand jury report. With his resignation, Wuerl is the last of his kind.

Links for 10/11/18

by Michael Sean Winters

Oct 11, 2018

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: "Principled Entrepreneurship;" lessons to learn from winning union elections; Tokyo 2020 Olympics goes over budget

US bishops must recapture spirit of collegial governance

by Michael Sean Winters

Oct 10, 2018

Distinctly Catholic: Pope Francis' order to investigate files on the McCarrick case signals that episcopal accountability, which has been the missing link in changing the clerical culture, is coming to the Catholic Church.

Columns ›

Midterm elections will be a referendum on Trump, not Kavanaugh

Wuerl hounded from office for becoming face of abuse crisis

Links for 10/11/18

US bishops must recapture spirit of collegial governance

Lay-led reform raises question: Can Catholic Church be bought?

Let's go a year in America without the elites

Links for 10/4/18

Kavanaugh hearings, reactions are moral reckoning, not 'national disgrace'

Links for 10/2/18

See nothing, judge everyone, act ridiculously

Kavanaugh hearing signals a cultural shift moment

Links for 9/27/18

Conservatives must face John Paul II's legacy in sex abuse crisis

Links for 9/25/18

US bishops won't restore trust with announced plans to stop abuse

Founders' ambivalence on natural equality gave way to white supremacy

Links for 9/20/18

Historian confronts complexities of early America's self-evident truths

Not all church reforms are equal or advisable

Links for 9/13/18

Worldliness is the very heart of the Catholic Church's crisis

Links for 9/11/18

The bruised and bloodied church will be reborn -- or it won't

Nuances of constitutional originalism leave originalism behind

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