Michael Sean Winters

Distinctly Catholic: We are betwixt Christmas and New Year's and, as a nation, we are betwixt what was and what will be, and what will be could hardly be less determinate.   

A roundup of political news and commentary: The owners of the famous Mayor Peter wine cave speak out; White House press secretary says the president is "under attack"; rural Kentucky gets broadband internet; more people dying at home rather than in hospitals

Distinctly Catholic: Democratic voters, who will be making up their minds in January, are looking for a leader, someone with the confidence and the smarts to take on Trump.

Distinctly Catholic: Pope Francis' acts — removing the pontifical secret in sex abuse cases, and raising the age for what constitutes child pornography — disprove the verdicts on last February's abuse summit.

A roundup of political news and commentary: The U.S. under the Trump administration has more in common with post-Netanyahu Israel than the Brexit-era U.K.; health care, labor unions and aid to Puerto Rico are reasons to vote Democrat

Distinctly Catholic: Forget about whether Labour went too far left; the undeniable lesson of the U.K. election for Americans is that it is a truly bad idea to waffle on the most pressing issue of the day.

A roundup of political news and commentary: Conservative wave in the United Kingdom has parallels to the "too woke" left in the United States; atheists aren't yet "it" in our political arena; read Molly Worthen; U.S. Rep. Justin Amash gets my vote

Distinctly Catholic: It requires spiritual discipline to avoid the consumerism that has truly taken the Christ out of Christmas and replaced him with Mammon. In wrapping paper.

Distinctly Catholic: Mendacity has long been a feature of public and especially political life; this week, however, has been a banner week for big institutional lies, partisan lying, and self-serving claims from the stump that are demonstrably impossible.

Political news and commentary roundup: Tom Steyer has bad ideas; William Barr is lying; media needs to check its slant when it comes to the presidential race; St. Anselm's monks are not happy with their college's trustees; Matthew Sitman takes down the Catholic right

Distinctly Catholic: Dominican Archbishop J. Augustine DiNoia's new collection of sermons are inspired and inspiring. Reading them will strengthen your faith.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: "Plague" chronicles church response to AIDS crisis; terrible heath care for uninsured pregnant women in Texas; remembering Caroll Spinney

Distinctly Catholic: Advocates for changes in church governance need to consider the theological and historical reasons the church is structured the way it is and be honest about the dangers their proposals portend. 

Seventy-five years ago, 44 nations sent delegates to the Bretton Woods resort where they negotiated the architecture of the postwar economy. They understood the need for multilateral solutions. They didn't know it then, but their work set the terms of the 2020 election. 

Distinctly Catholic: The postponement of Archbishop Fulton Sheen's beatification raises deeper issues about whom and how we as a church canonize. It's time to look at the criteria for sainthood.

Political news and commentary roundup: The Times says the left is losing the abortion fight; Secretary of State Pompeo slams Dems for impeachment hearings while President Trump is overseas; and more

Distinctly Catholic: Steven Waldman's new book Sacred Liberty examines the rekindling of anti-Catholic persecution in the early 19th century. What he does not do is distinguish between a denial of religious freedom and religious bigotry. 

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Sparse FEMA support for Puerto Rico; a heresy against reality from Brazil's Bolsonaro; the core health care problem; Opus Dei Pelagianism.

Distinctly Catholic: The estuary where church and state intertwine has been largely dominated in the past seven years by concerns about religious liberty. Steven Waldman seeks to bring some perspective and sanity back to discussions.

Distinctly Catholic: Like everything else about this presidency, no matter what choice the Democrats make, the impeachment provision and the Constitution to which it is attached will be demeaned.