Michael Sean Winters

Theologian Anna Rowlands' new book should be taught in seminaries, used in faith formation classes and read by every Catholic who wants to better understand Catholic social teaching, says columnist Michael Sean Winters.

Some conservative theologians explain why Pope Francis' restrictions on the Latin Mass are in keeping with the vision of Vatican II. Columnist Michael Sean Winters shares this and other stories.

Anna Rowlands' new book on Catholic social teaching connects it to other disciplines. That's just one of its accomplishments, says Michael Sean Winters in this review.

This Thanksgiving, columnist Michael Sean Winters believes we can learn a lot about gratitude from retired Pope Benedict.

Two greats died last week, according to columnist Michael Sean Winters: the first editor of the North American edition of Communio, and an evangelical writer/former presidential speechwriter.

The GOP leader faces the more difficult task, says columnist Michael Sean Winters, given the fierce divisions in the Republican caucus.

The dominant reality, for the U.S. bishops' conference and for the country, is that more division is one the way, and the crying need for common purpose and shared aspirations seems ever more remote.

The U.S. bishops have sent a clear message of rejection to Pope Francis by selecting Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who heads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, as president of the bishops' conference.

The overlap between organized labor and the Latino vote in Arizona and Nevada is another important angle of the midterms that has received too little attention.

The official agenda of the U.S. bishops' plenary meeting has not been released, but they will be electing officers and committee chairs, and discussing their teaching document related to voting. And what else?

The midterms are over. But Catholics should keep an eye on abortion, Latino voters and the fate of democracy, says columnist Michael Sean Winters.

Jack Jenkins reports on the 2022 midterms' most offensive ad, in which Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida was presented as a divinely ordained political leader. Columnist Michael Sean Winters says: "Yikes."

Although some races are still too close to call, there was no red wave in the midterms. But Dems have much to ponder, too.

While some conservative Catholics are criticizing the synodal process, columnist Michael Sean Winters finds a spiritual insight about synodality in a surprising place.

Election Day is Nov. 8. If you're trying to figure out if the polling is correct or if the Democrats will somehow hold on to one or both chambers of Congress, here are contests I will be looking at early in the evening.

The U.S. church could learn much from the document from the 2021 CELAM meeting, says columnist Michael Sean Winters, not the least because Pope Francis' experience of CELAM meetings inspired the universal synodal process.

Columnist Michael Sean Winters rounds up the headlines on Brazil's presidential election, theology from the peripheries and what it means to be a "Christian nation."

Despite its name, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" minimizes the formation of consciences. Time for the U.S. bishops to start over, argues columnist Michael Sean Winters.

Columnist Michael Sean Winters rounds up reading on antisemitism from the right and the left, and remembrances of the hurdles to Vatican II's Nostra Aetate.

Given the polarization in the U.S. bishops' conference, they would be smart to elect a new president and vice president who can help unite the group and the church, says columnist Michael Sean Winters.