Michael Sean Winters

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Fr. Gerry O'Hanlon on Ireland's pre-synodal assembly; praise for Garvey ignores predecessor; tougher approaches to Russia; codependency as a "toxic myth."

Michael Sean Winters: "Houston, we have a problem." Tom Hanks' memorable line in the movie "Apollo 13" seems like an appropriate starting point to consider the ecclesiastical situation in the great state of Texas.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Essay backs Ukraine's war of self-defense; Family Research Council applies to be a church; Republican inroads among Latinos; Boris Johnson and Donald Trump.

Michael Sean Winters: No one wants a Supreme Court with its finger to the wind, but the current conservative majority seems to enjoy thumbing its nose at the American people.

Michael Sean Winters: Critics of Merrick Garland fault him for not being more aggressive in prosecuting Donald Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election. But where would anyone find a jury willing to convict him?

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Chicago religious leaders condemn anti-Catholic bigotry; Gloria Purvis on abortion and Black women; listen to B+ Catholics; reflecting on the good Samaritan.

Michael Sean Winters: In a letter on the liturgy, published last week, Pope Francis, in line with Vatican II, again invites all Catholics to drink deeply from the wellspring of our faith, the paschal mystery.

Michael Sean Winters: Foreign Affairs authors make the case that the response to the war in Ukraine is the "last best hope" for Western powers to create a rules-based international order; only patronize hotels that do this.

Our independence succeeds only to the extent it is balanced by societal interdependence, by bonds that might restrain our independence and freedom but that do so in pursuit of the common good, by mutual dependence.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Michael Gerson is passionate without being tendentious; why we need to overcome Trump fatigue; $50,000 to meet Cardinal Pell, $20,000 to meet Cardinal Sarah.

Michael Sean Winters: The Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and that "the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives" throws a curve ball into this autumn's midterm elections.

Michael Sean Winters: Politico offers roundup of responses to Roe v. Wade being overturned; Cardinal Gerhard Müller should be advised against giving interviews to LifeSiteNews; is Gov. Ron DeSantis the future of the GOP?

Michael Sean Winters: This World Meeting of Families is not the spectacle we saw in previous years. It has gained in depth anything it lost in breadth, mostly because of what Pope Francis said at the event.

The U.S. Supreme Court correctly ruled that Maine cannot exclude religious schools from tuition assistance programs. The ruling is not a step toward religious establishment, prohibited by the First Amendment.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: An evangelical Protestant's view of Pope Francis; Republican Party's post-primary weirdness; people in the ideological center; the Rural Indexing Project.

Michael Sean Winters: Pope Francis issued a rescript requiring local bishops to get approval from Rome before giving their blessing to a diocesan religious order. How does this fit in with his call for increased synodality?

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Political columnist Mark Shields dies; billionaire Peter Thiel is no contrarian; the cost of not having universal health insurance; free speech challenges.

As we assess the morality of those who committed heinous acts of treason, we should always, always hold out hope for converts, and be prepared to welcome them after they have confessed their crimes against our democracy.

Michael Sean Winters: Oakland Bishop Michael Barber and writer George Weigel both repeated the same meme this week, that the divisions in the U.S. church are rooted in opposing allegiances to different popes. 

In the June 14 primary election for the 34^th Congressional District in Texas, Republican Mayra Flores defeated Democrat Dan Sanchez. Democrats hoping to capture the Latino vote should take note.