Prayer Needs No Permission - 10/27/26

CatholicVote president defends the bishops who prayed over Trump. A video shows a dozen Catholic bishops praying over President Donald Trump in the Oval Office and has drawn criticism online and raised questions about political endorsements. One of the bishops has since issued a public apology stating that the meeting was not an endorsement. The internet is on fire with criticism of the 12 bishops who prayed over President Trump in the Oval Office, said CatholicVote president and CEO Kelsey Reinhart. Let me remind everyone that bishops are priests and pastors.

And should not have to apologize for praying over presidents. This assault on public prayer is based on a secular vision of life, not the essential evangelization required by the gospel. In other news, the Department of Justice sues over potential voter confusion in the Alaska Senate race. Today is also the feast of St. Frumentius, who was a young scholar captured near Ethiopia in a shipwreck. After serving the royal family, he secured his freedom and visited St. Athanasius, asking for... ...to be sent to Ethiopia, but the bishop ordained him on the spot and sent him back to Ethiopia, where Frumentius converted the royal household and the country became officially Christian.

I'm Josh Mercer, editor of The Loop, taking you behind the headlines. Go to zeal.co for the rest of today's loop, and while you're at it, subscribe to get The Loop in your inbox every day. Again, that's zeal.co.