The LOOP
The Friday Loop - January 31, 2025
TRUMP ADDRESSES DC CRASH, ORDERS PROBE OF FAA POLICIES
President Donald Trump addressed the public yesterday about the deadly air collision that killed 67 people just outside of Washington, D.C. Wednesday. Trump later signed a memorandum calling for a probe of the Federal Aviation Administration's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring standards instituted under the Biden administration.
FBI NOMINEE VOWS TO INVESTIGATE ANTI-CATHOLIC MEMO
Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee for Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director, said during his Senate confirmation hearing yesterday that he would initiate an investigation into the FBI’s 2023 “Richmond memo,” which targeted so-called “radical traditional” Catholics.
US BISHOPS OPEN TO DIALOGUE WITH TRUMP ADMIN ON IMMIGRATION
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), recently said the bishops “are willing to dialogue” with the Trump administration about immigration policy. They have “asked for the possibility of meeting with the president or the vice-president to talk, not in the media, but face to face,” the Archbishop said.
INTELLIGENCE NOM GABBARD SPEAKS UP FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nominee Tulsi Gabbard during her Senate confirmation hearing decried U.S. intelligence programs that strengthened al-Qaeda and gave rise to radical Islamist groups that persecute Christians in the Middle East. “That should not be acceptable by anyone,” she said.
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GOP SENATORS INTRODUCE BILL TO EXPAND SCHOOL CHOICE
Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Tim Scott of South Carolina have introduced the Educational Choice for Children Act, which “provides a charitable donation incentive for individuals and businesses to fund scholarships for students to cover expenses related to K-12 public and private education,” The Daily Signal reports.
USA TODAY ANALYSIS FEATURES INSIGHTS FROM BURCH
An analysis published at USA Today extensively quotes CatholicVote’s Brian Burch on the wisdom that Catholic teaching brings to politics: Catholic Vice President JD Vance “represents the future of American politics –– toward an authentic realization of the Catholic principle of solidarity – rightly understood.”
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LEADING BISHOP LAUDS TRUMP’S CHILD-PROTECTIVE ORDER
Bishop Robert Barron, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, praised Trump for his executive order protecting children from “transgender” medical interventions. “So many young people who have been victims of this ideological crusade have profound regrets over its life-altering consequences,” Barron stated.
PUBLIC UNIVERSITY SCRUTINIZED FOR ARTWORK FEATURING MARY
Students at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) and two Michigan state representatives are protesting an artwork the university purchased and displayed that controversially uses altered images of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The display combines Our Lady’s image with symbols representing, among other things, the LGBTQ movement.
SPORTS: MORE THAN A GAME
Playing sports isn’t just fun and games for kids, and it’s more than expressing your inner child as an adult. It’s more than exercise, and it’s more than just an outlet for energy or anxiety. It’s even more than glory and the gratification of showing off. Here are five particular virtues that are deeply tied to sports.
CATHOLIC 101
“One of the deceptions of our time is the notion that serious sin is only a remote possibility for most people and that such sins are only committed by truly wicked people,” writes Msgr. Charles Pope. Read this great refresher on what it means to be in mortal sin and how to be more discerning in our examinations of conscience.
SAINT OF THE DAY
As a young priest, St. John Bosco (1815-1888) saw many boys end up in prison before turning 18. The spiritual and physical poverty he witnessed moved Don Bosco, and he began ministering to boys, starting the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales to educate, train, and catechize them. By Don Bosco’s death, his group was serving over 130,000 youths.
DAILY PSALM
“The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.” (Psalm 37:39)
DAILY READINGS
Today's Mass readings.
BEAUTY
“María Auxiliadora Entera” ("Mary Help of Christians") was commissioned by St. John Bosco in 1865. Bosco asked Italian artist Tommaso Andrea Lorenzone to complete this painting for the main altar in Turin’s Basilica of Mary Help of Christians. VIEW