The LOOP
The Friday Loop - May 30, 2025
COURT RULES TRUMP 'LIBERATION DAY' TARIFFS BACK IN EFFECT
"An appeals court on Thursday stayed the ruling of the U.S. Court of International Trade that blocked President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs," Breitbart reports, "meaning the tariffs are back in effect."
PRO-LIFE GROUPS CALL ON CONGRESS TO DEFUND ABORTION
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) recently joined 150 pro-life groups in calling on Congress to stop funding abortions. The ACLJ stated in a press release this week that the fight to protect babies and to defund the abortion industry is far from over.
ISRAEL AGREES TO TRUMP-BACKED CEASEFIRE DEAL
Israel has agreed to a ceasefire proposal submitted by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump. "Israel signed off on this proposal before it was sent to Hamas," White House press secretary Karoline Levitt said. "I can also confirm that those discussions are continuing, and we hope that a ceasefire in Gaza will take place so we can return all of the hostages home."
TEXAS GUV BUCKS BIG TECH, SIGNS CHILD PROTECTION LAW
Despite pressure from Big Tech, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a new law requiring Apple and Google to verify the ages of app users statewide, aiming to curb children's access to apps without parental approval.
POPE LEO CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE IN GAZA, PEACE IN UKRAINE
Pope Leo XIV during his Wednesday general audience again called for peace in both Ukraine and Gaza. “In the Gaza Strip, the cry of mothers, of fathers who clutch the lifeless bodies of children and who are continually forced to move in search of a little food and safer shelter from bombing, rises ever more intensely to the sky," the Holy Father said in part.
TEXAS MAY REQUIRE 10 COMMANDMENTS IN CLASSROOMS
President and CEO of 40 Days for Life Shawn Carney, a Texas-based national pro-life leader, praised a state bill that would require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public elementary and secondary school classrooms. Carney sees the bill as a way to bring Christianity to places that desperately need God.
DEPT OF DEFENSE LOOKS AT BOOSTING SUPPORT FOR HOMESCHOOLING
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered his department to review its support for homeschooling military families in order to ensure equal educational opportunities, according to a memorandum published this week.
SO MUCH NEWS
Here are the stories we couldn’t fit it today’s LOOP: • House Republicans are moving to probe the "cover-up" of Biden's decline. • Colorado is facing a lawsuit over its law against "misgendering." • Study: divorce is linked to higher crime and teen pregnancy rates.
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MAN ARRAIGNED IN KANSAS CHURCH VANDALISM CASE
The 23-year-old man accused of the burglary and vandalism of a Wichita, Kansas, Catholic church in March was arraigned May 28. The crime included Satanic graffiti left on the church property.
A REPORT FROM INSIDE THE NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC PILGRIMAGE
The eight Catholic young adults accompanying Our Lord in this year’s National Eucharistic Pilgrimage from Indiana to Los Angeles shared their experiences of the journey so far in a press conference May 28.
YOUR SADNESS IS NO SIN
Telling a person who is depressed that their sadness is a sin is like telling a paralysed man to get up and walk, but without any of Christ’s power to make it happen. Saints Thomas Aquinas and Philip Neri show us a better way.
CATHOLIC 101
The first Pope Leo, Leo the Great (391-461), preached ardently on the centrality of the mystery of the Ascension, emphasizing that it was precisely during the 40 days after Jesus’ Resurrection that the Lord designated Peter as “Rock” and entrusted the keys to him.
SAINT OF THE DAY
While still a teenager, Saint Joan of Arc was called by God to lead her home country of France in the Hundred Years War against England. Under her leadership, the French drove away the English at Orleans, marking a major turning point in the war. The English captured 19-year-old Joan, however, and in a politically-charged trial, condemned her to death.
DAILY PSALM
"God is king of all the earth." (Psalm 47:8)
DAILY READINGS
Today's Mass readings.
THE SATIRIST AND THE SAINT
Mark Twain loved little about Christianity and loved the Catholic Church even less. However, the famed American author had a major soft spot for one Catholic: St. Joan of Arc. Twain considered his book on the legendary young warrior maiden to be his favorite and said of Joan, “She is easily and by far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced.”