"The Church Needs You" - 9/28/26

Pope Leo paid a visit to the restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris during his four-day trip to France. Recalling the devastating fire and its reconstruction, Pope Leo said Notre Dame is more than a monument, and described it as a place where past and future embrace, and heaven and earth meet. About 80,000 young people in France attended a prayer vigil with Pope Leo, where he answered questions from the youth about anxiety and uncertainty about the future. He said, those who We follow Jesus on the path of humble and selfless service, are freed from anxiety, and find new enthusiasm as they experience inner joy and peace.

These feelings are not fleeting and subjective, but are rooted in the certainty of the faith to which we bear witness together as the Church. The Pope encouraged young Catholics to combine prayer with service, adoration and action, and periods of silence with proclamation. Pope Leo exhorted the youth. The church in France needs you, and he encouraged them to be both brave and bold. In other news, the Supreme Court cleared the way for state and local election officials to use the Trump administration's expanded federal database to check voters' citizenship ahead of the November midterms, a system the administration says will help identify non-citizens on voter rolls and combat voter fraud.

Today is also the feast of St. Wenceslas, a 10th century Duke of Bohemia. who became the patron saint of the Czech people. 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 morning. Again, that's zeal.co.