Michael Sean Winters

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Why Democrats shouldn't be counting chickens; scary takes on Puerto Rico and on sea levels; Gaza analysis falls short.

Distinctly Catholic: With three tweets, Donald Trump displayed the quintessence of his political psyche: unhinged from reality, unbounded by concern for veracity, and petulant.

Distinctly Catholic: Economics is not liberated from the inquisitorial eye of religion, Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones insists, rather authentic liberation must always develop within ethical principles, not with ethics as an add-on.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Catholic colleges could step up and offer free legal help to the estimated 2 million undocumented immigrants who likely qualify for legal status but do not know or can't afford to pursue it.

Distinctly Catholic: Recent appearances of Benedict in print and Francis on camera give insight into how, in different ways, they have avoided the strangeness of Vatican culture.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: AT&T CEO calls hiring Cohen "big mistake"; Catholic University of America professor on saving the university; Alternative ways to evaluate colleges

Distinctly Catholic: In certain circles of the left, there is a reluctance to celebrate Israeli independence, and a hostility to our sister democracy that is difficult to explain.

Distinctly Catholic: Do you find yourself some nights, after the news, not only angry at all the wicked things President Donald Trump is doing but also simply exhausted from the seemingly endless cavalcade of drama surrounding this administration?

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: New text from Pope Benedict XVI; West Virginia and Indiana primaries; Trump's decision to leave Iran deal; Clergy sex abuse scandal in three minutes

Distinctly Catholic: As young people leave religion, the right is more likely to be guilty of turning them away by hypocrisy, the left more by failing to come to religion's defense.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: What influence do the Koch Brothers buy; Asylum seekers' families separated; Democratic congressional candidates who will not support Nancy Pelosi; Happy birthday to Harry S. Truman

Distinctly Catholic: A cardinal will be facing a secular jury without a peep of protest from the Vatican. At long last, they realize there are things more important than independence.

Spring Fund Drive: Like most jobs related to the Catholic Church, we journalists do not come to our vocation to get rich. Your gifts are used to make sure Joshua J. McElwee is on the papal plane or to send Heidi Schlumpf and me to the meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

President Donald Trump will be in Dallas today speaking at the annual convention of the National Rifle Association, the organization that has sought to democratize gun violence.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Trump's mock acceptance speech; Hawking's wrestling with metaphysical questions; McElroy talks poverty and peace; U.S. bishops announce Religious Freedom Week

Distinctly Catholic: Not once has Paul Ryan wrestled sufficiently with his Catholic faith's social teachings when his ideology or his politics demand he stick to his libertarian precepts.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: First Amendment Defense Act; Young people moving toward pro-choice; Save the Catholic University of America website; George Mason University students file lawsuit

Distinctly Catholic: I conclude my review of Maura Jane Farrelly's Anti-Catholicism in America, 1620-1860, with a look at Farrelly's careful examination of anti-Catholicism in the Colonies and Britain during the revolutionary era.

Distinctly Catholic: Maura Jane Farrelly's book Anti-Catholicism in America, 1620-1860 deserves high praise for its extensive research and careful analysis.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Conspiracy theories surround Pope Francis; A podcast with Cardinal Joseph Tobin on immigration; Starbucks to confront racism