Michael Sean Winters

Michael Sean Winters is the author of Left At the Altar: How Democrats Lost The Catholics And How Catholics Can Save The Democrats (Basic Books, 2008). His biography of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, God's Right Hand: How Jerry Falwell Made God a Republican and Baptized the American Right was published by Harper One in January 2012 to critical acclaim. 

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Survey (Dreamstime/Weerapat Wattanapichayakul)

CatholicVote peddles extreme right-wing politics in religious drag

Michael Sean Winters: A recent "survey" from CatholicVote, the right-wing political organization, displays all that is worst in American politics. The organization is a scandal.

U.S. dollars are seen in this illustration photo. (CNS/Reuters/Rick Wilking)

Links: 'Pandora Papers'; wealthy donors interfere; the race in Virginia

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Investigation reveals how the global elite hide their riches; the treatment of migrants in Ireland; The Times' disturbing account of donors interfering at Yale

Michael Sean Winters' dog, Damiana, says humans would have calmer, more spiritual lives if they were less serious and paid closer attention to the seasons and beauty of nature. (Courtesy of Michael Sean Winters)

What humans can learn from dogs on the feast of St. Francis

Michael Sean Winters' dog, Damiana: Dad is serious, always talking about theology and politics. I try to remind him about the simple things: belly rubs, treats, walks. Humans seem to be much better tempered when they spend time outside, enjoying nature.

Pope John XXIII leads the opening session of the Second Vatican Council on Oct. 11, 1962, in St. Peter's Basilica. (CNS/L'Osservatore Romano)

How do we prepare for a synodal process? Start with the documents of Vatican II

Michael Sean Winters: It is frankly shocking that the U.S. bishops' conference has done so little to help the bishops and people of the church in this country prepare for this synodal process. But their inertia needn't be ours. Start by rereading documents of the Second Vatican Council.

Medical staff and others walk through the hallway of Mutual Help Catholic Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2017. (CNS/Bob Roller)

Links: German right-wing loss; US flag redesigns; NYC eatery's $25/hour a good start

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Medicaid in Puerto Rico; social psychology and religion; New York Times flag redesign contest is a bad idea; three libertarian archbishops in Australia.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters at the "Rally to Protect Our Elections" hosted by Turning Point Action in Phoenix July 24. (Wikimedia Commons/The Star News Network/Gage Skidmore)

Robert Kagan's warning about the US constitutional crisis: It is 1932

Michael Sean Winters: The stakes could scarcely be higher, and the principal responsibility for saving the country from a Trumpian future and the end of liberal democracy lies with Republican leaders.

A man in Washington wearing a raccoon hat Sept. 18 talks about how he believes former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election but it was stolen from him through fraud.

Links: America editor steps down; why the rich get richer; The Onion on Merkel

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Down the GOP rabbit hole on claims of fraudulent elections; surprise change at America magazine; profile of Rep. Ritchie Torres; redistricting in Texas.

Raymond Arroyo speaks at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. Arroyo's weekly show "The World Over" began airing on EWTN in September 1996.

It's time for US bishops to reconsider relationship with EWTN

Michael Sean Winters: Raymond Arroyo's weekly "The World Over" began airing on EWTN in September 1996. It served to extend the kind of conservative Catholic conversations found on the network's "Mother Angelica Live" into the realm of politics. Now network leadership should think seriously about its role in the church.

A migrant seeking asylum in the U.S. carries a child on his shoulder Sept. 20 as they cross the Rio Grande back into Mexico near the International Bridge between Mexico and the U.S. (CNS/Reuters/Go Nakamura)

Biden's immigration policy needs reboot — and a moral vision. Pope Francis can help.

Distinctly Catholic: The building crisis at the border threatens to dominate all other news stories as graphic, heart-rending images of desperate people hiding under a bridge or crossing a desert lead the news. President Joe Biden needs to reset his approach to immigration and he can start by leaning into his Catholic faith.

Voters line up prior to casting their ballots Nov. 6, 2018, at a polling station in Nesconset, New York, on Election Day . (CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Links: Governors' races in the midterms; resigning from the pro-life movement

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: One of the Republicans who voted to impeach Trump will not seek reelection; midterm races may be predictive of Trump's residual electoral strength; Jonah as a prophet for our time.

Neon tax sign (Unsplash/Jon Tyson)

Tax the rich: It's the right thing to do and it's popular

Distinctly Catholic: Now is the time for Democrats to seize the populist narrative around economic issues and make that, again, the defining hallmark of liberalism in the United States.

Workers wrap fabric on the southwest façade of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris Sept. 12. (Wikimedia Commons/Jean-Pierre Dalbéra)

Links: Russian elections; assisted suicide; reply to McAleese's criticism of Francis

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Canadian bishops' one-page guide for voters; The Tablet defends sanctity of life; a warning to Democrats; French piques; trade unions of the 12th century.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is on the hot seat amid reports about calling his Chinese counterpart to assure him not to worry about then-President Donald Trump starting a war. (CNS/Reuters/Ken Cedeno)

If Milley broke democratic norms – even for the greater good – he must face the music

Michael Sean Winters: After Democrats spent much of the past six years worrying about democratic norms, we cannot simply look away when Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, might have violated those norms. 

Cupich's call for a eucharistic revival offers the bishops a way out of the mess they made for themselves

Michael Sean Winters: After a year of heated debate about denying Communion to pro-choice pols, the bishops need an offramp. Cardinal Blase Cupich's five-point proposal for a eucharistic revival could save the bishops from themselves. 

President Joe Biden gives remarks at Mather Airport Sept. 13 near Sacramento, California. (CNS/Reuters/Leah Millis)

Links: How Biden can recover; El Paso and COVID; rationing health care

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: A look at approval ratings and how presidents recover from disaster. El Paso has done far better getting vaccinated than other jurisdictions.

Angry parents and community members in Ashburn, Virginia, protest after the Loudoun County School Board halted its meeting because the crowd refused to quiet down June 22. Many at the meeting objected to "critical race theory" being part of the curriculum

Should critical race theory be taught in our schools?

Distinctly Catholic: If critical race theory calls us to embrace legal ideas such as affirmative action, sign me up. However, readers and students deserve better than the ideology on display in "The 1619 Project."

Elevation of the Eucharist is depicted in a stained-glass window at St. Anthony's Church July 15 in North Beach, Maryland. (CNS/Bob Roller)

Links: Bishops' Eucharist document; a pro-family president; racial divides in housing

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Good news about Trump's fans; argument for bishops to stop criticizing Biden over abortion stance; Georgetown law professor looks at racial divides in housing policy.

A man on an airplane looks at the One World Trade Center in New York City Sept. 9, 2021.

In solemn silence, Biden leads the nation in remembering September 11

The memorials marking the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, could not be more appropriate to the memory of what happened there two decades ago, says columnist Michael Sean Winters.

The crowd in St. Peter's Square is pictured as Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking the square at the Vatican Sept. 5. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Are Francis' critics scared of the Holy Spirit?

Michael Sean Winters: Early critiques fretting about the Vatican's new document on synodality cite "unpredictability" and "confusion." But, at base, they reject the call to conversion and repeat criticisms of Pope Francis and his reform agenda.  

Starbucks coffee cup (Unsplash/Kadarius Seegars)

Links: Biden's Catholicism; union organizing at Starbucks; vaccination success

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Faggioli on Traditionis Custodes; workers try to unionize at Starbucks; changing ways people think about work; a poor county's vaccination success story.

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