The LOOP
The Thursday Loop - May 22, 2025
BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL HEADS TO FLOOR
President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax package, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” appears to be on track for House passage Thursday morning after GOP leaders pushed through late-night changes to secure wavering Republicans, pushing forward a sweeping conservative agenda of tax cuts, Medicaid reforms, and Planned Parenthood defunding.
TRUMP CONDEMNS RACIAL LAND SEIZURES IN SOUTH AFRICA
President Donald Trump accused South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in an Oval Office meeting yesterday of enabling racially motivated land seizures and violence against white Afrikaner farmers, highlighting graphic footage and defending newly granted refugee protections.
VIRGINIA DEM CONNOLLY DIES AT 75
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA, died Wednesday at 75 after battling esophageal cancer. A nine-term Democrat, Connolly’s passing comes amid key legislative negotiations and leaves House Democrats down a crucial vote.
FINALLY: 'TANGIBLE' ADVICE 'I HIGHLIGHT, STAR, UNDERLINE'
Parents (and grandparents) of boys: how to raise chaste men in our sex-obsessed culture. Wisdom from a mom of eight plus a powerful chapter from over 20 young men with their experience and advice. NOW in an expanded 2nd edition with forewords by Jason Evert & Father Dwight Longenecker. FREE Pope Leo XIV prayer card & Saint Thomas Aquinas chastity prayers for LOOPers!
POPE LEO BEGINS GENERAL ADDRESS WITH GAZA APPEAL
In the first General Audience of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV called for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and resumed catechesis following the Jubilee theme “Jesus Christ Our Hope,” which the late Pope Francis had started.
CATHOLIC EDUCATION EXPANDS IN LA
A generous donation will provide scholarships and support services for 8,000 underserved students in Los Angeles Catholic schools, while also funding teacher development to improve academic outcomes. READ
RFK DEFENDS TRUMP'S WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION WITHDRAWAL
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended Trump’s withdrawal from the WHO, calling the agency politically compromised, and urged world leaders to join the US in a system overhaul.
SO MUCH NEWS
Here are the stories we couldn’t fit it today’s LOOP: • Illegal immigrant arrested after posing as a teen to enroll in high school. • Survey finds Fortune 500 companies increasingly embrace religion. • Nevada Senate rejects assisted suicide bill for the fifth time.
Advertisement
FREE PHONE!
Get rewarded for partnering with the pro-life phone company with the code 'LOOP'!
CATHOLIC EXPERT PRAISES POPE LEO ON AI
Father Philip Larrey, an expert on artificial intelligence, explained why Pope Leo XIV’s immediate focus on AI is urgently needed. “In the absence of a universal consensus concerning the ethical dimensions to AI, the voice of the Catholic Church in general, and that of Leo particularly, will be a rallying call to use technology in a responsible and truly humane way," he said.
CONGRESS MOVES TO PROTECT CLERGY
A bipartisan bill in Congress would allow immigrant clergy to stay in the US amid a visa backlog crisis, which faith leaders warn is threatening access to sacraments, spiritual care, and religious education nationwide.
LOOPcast
JD Vance is in the hot seat as Ross Douthart interviews him on the intricacies of being a Catholic politician. Are the libs right about the “Big Beautiful Bill?” Laurel Libby can now do her job, the Pope’s brother is living the dream, and Marco Rubio claps BACK! All this and more on the!
CATHOLIC 101
Is it antithetical to love to command that we do it? Isn’t love free and spontaneous? Here is an in-depth essay about how love is a practice and a fundamental mode of dealing with another person, and how the Christian concept of love is revolutionarily different from every other definition.
SAINT OF THE DAY
Today the Church celebrates Saint Rita of Cascia, who Saint John Paul II called “a disciple of the Crucified One” and “an expert in suffering” for her heroic faith, forgiveness, and perseverance.
DAILY PSALM
"Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations." (Psalm 96:3)
DAILY READINGS
Today's Mass readings.
LEADERSHIP
Pope Leo XIV blesses a baby at his first General Audience in Saint Peter's Square.