Michael Sean Winters

Stephen Schneck, member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Liberty, says in a lecture at Boston College's Boisi Center that people of faith "can be most effective" advocating for freedom of belief.

In his approval of Gestis Verbisque from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Francis is reminding us that the sacraments are God's gift to the whole church, and we should receive them as such.

The reason the Republicans are worried about Taylor Swift is because she crosses the usual boundaries. Democrats go to her concerts, and so do Republicans.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to the Arlington Latin Mass Society, full stop. But as Catholics, we can regret the tendency of some Latin Mass groups toward extremism. 

What did the pope omit from his talk? He should have addressed the lack of consultation before Fiducia Supplicans.

Former President Trump has no constitutional power over members of Congress. If the situation at the border is the crisis they have claimed it is, they can't now just throw up their hands.

President Joe Biden can't pretend he hasn't aged or that people do not notice how frail he looks. He and his campaign need an answer to people's concerns, and that answer starts with the pope.

The most important reason to stop the execution is not because of what it does to Kenneth Eugene Smith but what it does to us. It turns us into barbarians. 

Both sides argue that if the church does not stay/shift on issues of human sexuality, it risks damaging its appeal and ability to evangelize. Why should a pastoral provision be made for one group and not the other? 

A case before the Supreme Court brought by a group of fishing companies shows deeper issues than herring fisheries. Some of those issues are legal, entwined with issues of governance, and others epistemological.

The fact voters can't see Trump for the charlatan he is speaks precisely to their alienation from, and distrust of, the typical organs of democracy, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

It is a measure of the degree to which our Americanness outstrips our Christianity that all of us, liberals and conservatives, Catholics and Protestants, tend to forget that success is not a name of God. 

 Allowing Donald Trump's acolytes to paint all politicians with the same brush hides the uniqueness of the threat he poses, argues NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

Changing the church's discipline on celibacy is both easier and harder than other proposed changes to the structures of the church's ministry, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

In his World Day of Peace message, Pope Francis has issued a warning about artificial intelligence, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. He has framed the problems and offered a path forward that is humane.

This year will bring more polarization within the U.S. church, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. but maybe we'll see a shift among the hierarchy from those who oppose the pope to those who embrace him. 

While the presidential race will capture the media spotlight, contests for control of the U.S. House and Senate might prove just as important for the future of democracy, argues NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

The key dynamics in the U.S. church in 2023 were ongoing papal reform efforts, especially synodality, with continued opposition but also some signs of hope, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

The sad fact is that Catholic social teaching could improve virtually every issue facing the nation, but it only broke through here and there in 2023, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters. 

It's that time of the year. Santa has drawn up his list of who has been naughty and who has been nice, and so has NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.