Michael Sean Winters

Distinctly Catholic: The spring meeting of the U.S. bishops' conference turned out to be livelier than expected: The divisions among the bishops continue to plague their effort, if it can be called an effort, to live up to the moral demands of the moment.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Rep. Sanford pays for criticizing Trump; Trump, Kim and "the best hotels"; Martin to speak at World Meeting of Families

Distinctly Catholic: The U.S. bishops seem clueless about their present moral situation. President Trump is attacking their spiritual children. Where is the united voice of the episcopacy in this country?

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Catholic University's "academic renewal"; bishops and the new "Trail of Tears"; Obama and 2020 Democratic hopefuls.

Distinctly Catholic: U.S. bishops hold their spring meeting this week, and while they will discuss their statement on voting, they plan to neither replace nor revise the existing document.

Distinctly Catholic: Earlier this week, I was privileged to attend a three-day conference on how Catholic social teaching could help in overcoming polarization in the Catholic Church. But anti-polarization is not an absolute value.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Passing prison reform is "easy" because the system is so un-beautiful; Dennis Rodman might go to North Korea summit; Tim Busch still doesn't know Catholic social teaching; more on the 9.9 percent, the U.S. aristocracy

Distinctly Catholic: The bishops should begin remaking Catholic University with the goal that it become a center for preserving Latino cultural vitality in U.S. society.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Reaching out to Trump voters; teachers and the most important labor event of the year; Trump and Kim Jong Un's sit-down.

Distinctly Catholic: Amid the fundraising and festivities, the guests of honor at tonight's Cardinals Dinner should begin to address the sad fact that Catholic University is ill.

Distinctly Catholic: "The Birth of a New Aristocracy" is easily the most important and challenging essay published this year — it's and uniquely challenging to U.S. Catholics. Are we really working toward the common good?

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Toll of hurricanes is still felt in Puerto Rico and in Houston's poor neighborhoods; the importance of unions; "Watergate Babies."

Distinctly Catholic: Matthew Stewart's story on the rise of the new American aristocracy says you might be among the 21st century's version of viscounts or barons; the danger in meritocracy is that it's too easy to conflate material success with moral superiority. 

Distinctly Catholic: When the news broke that the pope reportedly said, "God loves you like this," to a gay man, one of the sex abuse survivors with whom he met, I knew papal critics would have a field day.

Distinctly Catholic: Two recent press releases highlight the fact that the nation's bishops, as a body, still have not figured out how to deal with the presidency of Donald Trump, nor accurately weighed the values at stake in this fraught political moment.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: A symposium on Catholic political thought; Republicans wrestle with immigration issue; how the pro-life movement turns off people it should attract

Though the Vatican has offered proposals to create a specific body charged with hearing cases of episcopal negligence or malfeasance regarding clergy sex abuse, there still remains no clear process — and indeed no clear authority — to assess these charges.

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.