Michael Sean Winters

No one knows if this step the pope has taken will prove to be the first of many steps or the last, whether the synod next year will encourage additional movement or if it will shut it down, writes Michael Sean Winters.

When Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral burned, we wept because of our love for Mary. What graces might be waiting to be received when Notre Dame is reopened next year?

Today's Republican Party seems unwilling to risk anything to support democracy here at home, so perhaps it is not surprising that they are willing to abandon Ukraine, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

No one knows whether recent congressional testimony on antisemitism will serve as a tipping point for academia. But those in Catholic higher education should see the highly conspicuous meltdown as a huge opportunity.

The economy is a big part of the story, and the Biden campaign's "economic messaging needs a lot of improvement."  

It's likely only a matter of time before the four presidential candidates on the debate stage Dec. 6 join the ranks of the also-rans. They have no one but themselves to blame, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

The death of a Palestinian civilian from an Israeli airstrike is just as much of a loss as the death of an Israeli civilian on Oct. 7. The one is also an act of desecration because of the intention of the perpetrators, writes Michael Sean Winters.

Notre Dame theologian John Cavadini's article on the Synod of Bishops' synthesis document raises important questions about important issues and does so without demonizing anyone or rejecting the synodal process itself.

Linking the removal of Cardinal Burke's perks to the removal of Bishop Strickland from the Tyler Diocese makes it seem like the problem is Francis, when the outrageous behavior is coming from the two American prelates.

It is less important that countries pledge themselves to some far-off goals that they may or may not meet. It is more important that they start doing something now.

The fact that integralists command a following is frightening and requires everyone to learn more about why the movement is so dangerous. Kevin Vallier's book All the Kingdoms of the World is not a bad place to start. 

All the Kingdoms of the World: On Radical Religious Alternatives to Liberalism is an important read because none of us yet knows how influential integralists will become and because Vallier takes the movement seriously. 

There is no group in American society with whom it is easier to share a conversation about Catholic social teaching than the leaders of the American labor movement, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

There was very little that was newsworthy at this year's meeting of the U.S. bishops. But it demonstrated the sclerotic condition the U.S. hierarchy has created for itself, says NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

The elections for committee chairs and secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were completed on Nov. 14 and the results were mixed, writes Michael Sean Winters.

The solution to the divisions within the hierarchy will not be found primarily through internal discussions. The bishops must find the answers outside the sacristy — or the hotel ballroom where they are meeting.

On the first day of their plenary, the bishops are all huddled in small group sessions. This is frustrating for us in the press, but we can hope this more synodal approach helps the bishops find a way to come together. 

It is time for the pro-life movement in this country, and especially for the U.S. Catholic bishops, to recognize that their nearly 50-year effort to overturn Roe v. Wade was a deeply flawed political strategy.

The pope insists that theology engage in "dialogue within the ecclesial community and an awareness of the essential synodal and communion dimension of doing theology."

There will be a few key elections tomorrow but campaign watchers should be wary of any analysis that seeks to extrapolate national trends from these very specific contests, says NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.