Michael Sean Winters

Distinctly Catholic: Never mind facts — we want to both save money, and inspire the poor to improve themselves. But virtue is not only for the poor. It's for everybody.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Koch-backed group works to roll back laws for sick leave; Trump administration may target immigrant recipients of food aid; Benedict's "total obedience"

Distinctly Catholic: There is clear continuity in Catholic social teaching between the pre-conciliar papal magisterium, the documents of Vatican II, the papal magisteriums of Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Ed Whelan needs a new research team; the polarization and necessity of raising up intellectuals in philosophy; Is the Democratic party beyond saving?

Distinctly Catholic: Part one of a review of book that demonstrates how and why the theology of the people had a formative impact on Jorge Maria Bergoglio, and also shows its continuing influence on his writings now that he is Pope Francis.

Distinctly Catholic: George Weigel's latest disputes Cardinal Parolin's calling Amoris Laetitia a paradigm shift. But there's a purpose to Weigel's framing the term so narrowly.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Becket religious liberty fund sides with shirt company; government shut down, again; bye, Kathleen Hartnett White; hurri-can't recovery; DACA recipient priest

Distinctly Catholic: With Veritatis Gaudium, which brings up to date the last, 1979, apostolic constitution on the topic of schools that grant pontifical degrees, Francis sets out four criteria for the renewal and revival of their faculties.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Thumbs-down for Uber; Paul Ryan's $1.50 tweet; Polish ban raises alarm; why "Davos Man" is right to be nervous

Distinctly Catholic: The danger in all this hoo-ha over the memo and what we're told it "proves" is that important institutions that keep our democracy stable are being undermined.

Distinctly Catholic: I am accustomed to disagreeing with the writings about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict offered by Ra'fat Al-Dajani. But his latest commentary is so outrageous, it demands a response.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: HHS' new division protects health-care workers' religious rights; Be careful how you invoke Churchill; Chaput responds to Cessario's First Things review

Whiplash. President Trump, after a year of divisive tweets and regressive policies and public demeaning of political opponents, called the nation to unite behind his leadership in last night’s State of the Union address.

Distinctly Catholic: It is not my place to referee the intellectual debate between Catholic conservative Rod Dreher and Jesuit Fr. Andreas Gonçalves Lind, but I do hope that it can be directed towards a more fruitful exchange.

Distinctly Catholic: Can we be sure that the American people, if they feel that their pockets are fuller than before and their prospects more rosy, will not look the other way while President Donald Trump deports people and ignores the environment?

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Sen. Chuck Schumer is compromised; artificial intelligence hype; sustainable energy surge; Mark Silk on Barros

Distinctly Catholic: I confess I cannot make heads or tails of Pope Francis' comments at the press conference aboard the flight back to Rome, regarding allegations against Bishop Juan Barros Madrid.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Calling out the Catholic left; bishops support workers' right to organize; two very different reactions to the HHS civil rights division; updates on Puerto Rico's power grid

Distinctly Catholic: Three recent developments suggest there is more fluidity in the political debate surrounding abortion than I had anticipated, and one sign of how intractable that debate remains.

Distinctly Catholic: Dominican Fr. Romanus Cessario, professor of systematic theology at St. John's Seminary, should be sacked. Not permitted to retire early. Not permitted to resign.