Michael Sean Winters

Distinctly Catholic: Judge Brett Kavanaugh called last week's hearing "a national disgrace." On cable news, moderate voices fretted that the U.S. had never been in such dire straits. Bosh.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Kavanaugh's interpretation; Fr. Z's condemnation; gay bashing from the Catholic right; analysis about the pope's China deal

Distinctly Catholic: Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput is headed to Rome as a delegate to the Synod of Bishops on young people. He is not entirely happy to be attending the event.

Distinctly Catholic: It is far from clear that Judge Brett Kavanaugh will ever make it on to the U.S. Supreme Court, but going forward, he will be the standard. Women are pushing back, and it will alter our political, social and cultural landscape.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Representative's six siblings campaign for his opponent; historical fallacy of originalism; data on why some among working class vote Republican

Distinctly Catholic: This moment of the church's sex abuse scandal requires a moral reckoning that must be honest about the legacy of St. Pope John Paul II.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Troubling pieces about Kavanaugh; Poll reveals voting complacency; Puerto Rico is still rebuilding; alarming study on global warming

Distinctly Catholic: If the steps they announced are any indication, the bishops have a long way to go before their efforts will heal the church from the abuse scandals and earn back people's confidence.

Distinctly Catholic: In Self-Evident Truths, historian Richard Brown deftly catalogs the shift that led to the triumph of white supremacist views in the first half of the 19th century.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Millennials form unions; reading the midterm tea leaves; "Saint Benedict XVI"; politics and Puerto Rico's death toll.

Distinctly Catholic: In Self-Evident Truths, Richard Brown's examination of how religious equality manifested itself in the years after the Revolution is especially fascinating.

The sex abuse crisis has exposed a real sickness in the church, and some combination of structural, cultural and spiritual renewal will be needed. 

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: The state of evangelical churches; Carl Anderson urges Knights to support Kavanaugh; Bishop Finn gets a pass in Missouri.

Distinctly Catholic: Fixated on money, the American church has become dull to the Gospel for the simple reason that it is good news for the poor and we are no longer poor.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Catholic reformers of questionable credentials; the Supreme Court and the Kavanaugh hearings; racist robocalls in Florida.

Distinctly Catholic: One of the things that is so shocking about the latest opposition to Pope Francis is the degree to which bishops, who have taken an oath of fidelity to Peter and his successors, have trashed Francis.

Distinctly Catholic: Originalism as understood today in academic law reviews is not as originalist as it pretended to be in the 1970s and as it still purports to be in the public square.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Ayanna Pressley's victory; citizens denied passports; Viganò and red hats; no unionizing for angels or public sector workers.

Distinctly Catholic: Kevin Walsh chided me for not knowing what I was talking about when it came to originalism. I plead guilty, and examine two essays he commended for a more nuanced originalism.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Key players in the attack on Pope Francis; why Cardinal Müller was sacked as doctrinal prefect; a $29 billion tax windfall.