The LOOP

The Thursday Loop - October 30, 2025

SCANDAL: BIDEN FBI TARGETED HUNDREDS OF REPUBLICANS

The Biden administration’s FBI targeted hundreds of Republican figures and organizations, according to 197 subpoenas made public by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

ISRAEL AGAIN RESUMES CEASEFIRE AFTER MORE AIRSTRIKES

Israel said it had resumed its ceasefire in Gaza yesterday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced criticism from the international community for having ordered another wave of deadly overnight airstrikes.

POPE LEO PRAYS FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE MELISSA

Pope Leo yesterday said he is praying for the victims of Hurricane Melissa, which he described as “a storm of catastrophic power, causing violent flooding” that impacted Jamaica and then Cuba “with devastating force.” He said thousands of people have suffered displacement, and homes and numerous hospitals have been wrecked.

ALIGN YOUR CATHOLIC VALUES WITH YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS

Want a mutual fund that respects your pro-life, pro-family beliefs? All seven Ave Maria Funds share your Catholic values. They don’t invest in companies that support abortion, pornography or embryonic stem cell research, or make corporate contributions to Planned Parenthood. about Ave Maria, the nation’s largest Catholic mutual fund family.

EVEN PRO-ABORTION ACTIVISTS KNOW MIFEPRISTONE NEEDS REGULATION

Even abortion supporters now say mifepristone — the drug responsible for more than half of U.S. abortions — lacks proper safety oversight, according to an Oct. 28 Federalist report.

CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT APPS UNITE FOR BIBLE MONTH

Three leading Christian apps — two Protestant and one Catholic — are working together to challenge people to spend time with Scripture each day during the month of November, which is Global Bible Month.

VANCE TALKS FAITH, VISIT TO HOLY SEPULCHRE, BORDERS

Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, said in a podcast interview published yesterday that his faith calls him to balance compassion for migrants with the duty to protect national sovereignty. “I think the Catholic Church recognizes we have to have border control.... That’s very clearly written in Catholic teaching, is that nations are allowed sovereignty, they’re allowed to control their own borders.”

CALLING ALL PRO-LIFERS!

Support pro-life and pro-family causes just by using your phone.

MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN MURDER OF PRIEST, FACES SENTENCE

A man accused of stabbing a Nebraska priest to death in December 2023 pleaded guilty to murder this week. He now faces a sentence of life imprisonment.

ARCHBISHOP CALLS FOR DEVOTION TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

A multi-year project is underway to inspire more Catholics in the U.S. to prepare to celebrate the upcoming 500th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco is leading the campaign, saying Mary's apparition in 1531 "is nothing less than the birthday of Christianity in the Americas."

NOT TO BE MISSED

Here are the stories we couldn’t fit in today’s LOOP: • Arkansas has been named the most pro-life state in the union for the sixth year in a row. • At Philadelphia's recent White Coat Mass, Catholic medical professionals gathered to deepen their faith. • Pew's latest polling found a majority of Americans believe declining birthrates will negatively affect the nation.

BOYS: FEWER RULES, MORE RITES

Boys need structure, but not too much of it. More than a bunch of rules, they need rites of passage, says Alvaro de Vicente at Men in the Making. "The end of education is not the rule but the man who no longer needs it." Here is his advice for this two-part approach to formation: how to establish rules and then how to help boys move into the maturity of governing themselves as men.

CATHOLIC 101

These days, we can't seem to accept any weakness without providing some excuse or diagnosis. We're disorganized and late to everything, so of course we must have ADHD. We are socially awkward... must be autism. But human weakness is an essential thread in the story of us and God, and is something that, as Saint Paul said, we should boast of.

SAINT OF THE DAY

Today the Church celebrates Saint Alonso Rodriguez (1532-1617). He lived a life full of suffering and loss, but became a mentor and positive role model to many. After his wife and children passed away and he lost his business, Alonso found a late call to religious life. A Jesuit, he preached that the way to holiness was in finding joy in small everyday duties.

DAILY PSALM

"Save me, O Lord, in your mercy." (Psalm 109)

DAILY READINGS

Today's Mass readings.

REST IN PEACE

Fifteen-year-old John Gendek of Philadelphia, whose deep faith mirrored that of Saint Carlo Acutis, attended Acutis’ canonization at the Vatican in September while battling cancer. He passed away this month at the same age and from the same illness as the saint he admired.