Michael Sean Winters

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: moral inadequacy of carbon tax; judge who condemned Flynn is a hero; U.S. bishops conference on death of girl at border; Bishop Barron appears on right-wing radio show

Distinctly Catholic: If ever there were a time for patience, it is in the delivery of assessments about the trial of Cardinal George Pell. But the rush is on.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Penance for "little monsters"; taxes on nonprofit parking lots; Mulvaney's "odio a Puerto Rico"; Ratzinger on new evangelization

Distinctly Catholic: Fox News promotes social Darwinism when it refuses to offer human dignity to the refugees coming to the United States.

Distinctly Catholic: Bishop Robert Barron reportedly has 1.6 million Facebook fans and 130,000 followers on Twitter; his YouTube videos have 34 million views. I am not among the fans.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: More and more Pinocchios; investigating the Puerto Rico oversight board; Christmas memes; the cost of climate change.

Distinctly Catholic: I have never been much of a fan of the Puritans who first settled New England, nor of the habits of mind and piety that their name describes.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Call to save D.C.'s Providence Hospital; debt-free college will cost progressives; Heisman winner apologizes; Tecate dignifies migrants

Distinctly Catholic: Through all my upbringing, studies, scholarship and connections, it never occurred to me that I would live to see in this country the kinds of attacks on democracy we see today.

Distinctly Catholic: Despite the relationship between American civil religion and the Christian faith, the state funeral of President George H.W. Bush demonstrated that the Christian church has something meaningful to say.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defanged; Ocasio-Cortez earns "four Pinocchios"; workplace discrimination against pregnant women

Distinctly Catholic: When you hear someone say that President George H.W. Bush was such a decent man, remember what he was willing to do to gain the presidency. 

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Franklin Graham defends Trump; New Age guru considers presidency run; Paul Ryan's legacy; the world's worst boss.

Distinctly Catholic: For several years now, I have been fretting about the disappearance of the holy season of Advent. In faith, we believe that Jesus will come at the end of time to judge the living and the dead.

Distinctly Catholic: Trump's eagerness to blame someone, anyone, for every difficulty is a unique characteristic in the history of the presidency for being so devoid of complexity.

Just as we would be shocked to learn that Catholic hospitals were performing morally objectionable procedures, many of us are profoundly disturbed to learn enormous compensation is being showered on the executives of Catholic healthcare companies. 

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Tensions in Bosnia; "Trump judges" and "Obama judges"; extremist fringe vs. Canadian church agencies; holding out for a (political) hero.

Distinctly Catholic: You could have a field day comparing what George Weigel wrote about national bishops' conferences during John Paul II's pontificate to what he writes now.  

Distinctly Catholic: It is obvious that Pope Francis "gets" the evil of sex abuse.  But I suspect the pope does not understand the media culture in which the U.S. church operates. In this regard, I suspect he is like many U.S. bishops.

Distinctly Catholic: We all make mistakes. But I fear that a significant part of the Catholic media is engaged in a willful effort to spread falsehoods in the interest of partisan ecclesial objectives.