The LOOP

The Thursday Loop - January 30, 2025

RFK VOWS TO IMPLEMENT TRUMP’S PRO-LIFE POLICIES AT HEARING

Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified yesterday at his Senate confirmation hearing: “I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year.” Kennedy added: “I’m going to implement his policies.”

TRUMP SIGNS LAKEY RILEY ACT INTO LAW

President Donald Trump yesterday afternoon signed into law the Laken Riley Act, a border security measure named for a young University of Georgia student murdered last February by an illegal migrant with a known criminal record. Observers widely viewed the act’s signing as the first major legislative win of Trump’s second term.

CALIFORNIA DROPS CHARGES AGAINST PRO-LIFE JOURNALISTS

The State of California agreed this week to drop all charges against pro-life journalists David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt for their undercover videos of Planned Parenthood executives talking about trafficking in the body parts of aborted babies. The prosecution was first launched in 2016 by then-Attorney General Kamala Harris.

SURPRISING LENTEN PRACTICE BRINGS CATHOLICS BACK TO CHURCH

“Can you imagine how YOU would feel receiving this?” Offer up each day in Lent for a specific person, then tell that person with one of these gorgeous postcards. “Incredibly touching. Too beautiful to throw away. Opens up conversations on the Faith.” LOOPers get first dibs on sets of 40 Lent Prayer & Sacrifice Cards now (plus a FREE Lent/Easter calendar).

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER EXPANDING SCHOOL CHOICE

Trump issued an executive order yesterday “expanding educational freedom and opportunity for families” and pledging that his administration will fully support legislative efforts to achieve school choice. “It is the policy of my Administration to support parents in choosing and directing the upbringing and education of their children,” the order states.

DOZENS OF FOREIGN AID OFFICIALS PUT ON LEAVE

At least 56 senior officials at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were placed on administrative leave this week as part of an investigation into alleged efforts to circumvent Trump’s executive orders. The news came after Trump issued executive orders ending taxpayer-funded abortions overseas.

ATTORNEYS GENERAL CALL ON COSTCO TO DROP DEI POLICIES

Nineteen state attorneys general penned a letter to the CEO of Costco urging the retail giant to “do the right thing” and rescind its controversial diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. The letter cited one of Trump's executive orders and a growing body of legal precedents framing DEI as discriminatory.

PRO-LIFERS, PICK UP THE PHONE

Switch to Charity Mobile the pro-life phone company today!

SUPREME COURT ASKED TO OVERTURN 'GAY MARRIAGE'

The Idaho House of Representatives this week called on the United States Supreme Court to overturn the 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex “marriage.” The elected lawmakers also urged the Court to “restore the natural definition of marriage, a union of one man and one woman.”

LOOPcast

Is your FAFSA gone? We take a closer look at the web the media’s been spinning. Trump works to put the power back in the hands of the people and the new press secretary is a BEAST. Democrats unwittingly show off the best of the Republican party, and … Catholics don’t want to go to Mass? All this and more on the!

TINY SAINTS

Enter for a chance to win a FREE Lion & Lamb box ($54.99 value). Every Lion & Lamb box includes 3-5 outstanding children’s books along with discussion questions and even a Tiny Saint. And all of the books are guaranteed to be safe for your children to read.

GOP REP THREATENS TO CALL CATHOLIC CHARITIES TO TESTIFY

A video distributed by Catholic Charities USA’s Refugee and Immigration Services in Milwaukee features an immigration attorney instructing migrants how to sidestep immigration enforcement. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA, responded that she would call on the attorney to testify before lawmakers in order “to find out why and to what extent they were helping illegals invade America.”

VATICAN DOCTRINE CHIEF DISCUSSES RUPNIK CASE

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, head of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, recently spoke about disgraced former Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, who faces accusations of abuse from dozens of victims. The Cardinal said in part that he could think of many “more serious” cases than Rupnik’s, adding: “We cannot think of a new law for just one case….”

EARLY MORNING PRAYER

For most of us, waking up earlier than we need to does not come naturally. But this father of three children under five found that early rising was the only way he could get 30 minutes of daily uninterrupted prayer. He explains how it changes the rest of his day, and he gives a major tip for transforming the brutal first few seconds after the alarm goes off.

CATHOLIC 101

A plenary indulgence is the total remission “before God of the temporal punishment for sins, whose guilt is forgiven.” But did you know that the faithful have the opportunity to gain a plenary indulgence once per day with the fulfillment of three basic conditions – sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion, and prayers for the pope's intentions?

SAINT OF THE DAY

Even after she entered the convent of the Sisters of St. Francis, St. Hyacintha of Mariscotti (1585-1640) had not abandoned her desire for worldly comfort. When her confessor visited one day and saw her luxurious chambers, he rebuked her worldly attachments. She repented and, later, performed many miracles.

DAILY PSALM

“Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.” (Psalm 24:6)

DAILY READINGS

Today's Mass readings.

BEAUTY

The Retablo Mayor altar in Seville’s Cathedral is the largest gothic altar in the world, made with four tons of pure gold.