The LOOP

The Wednesday Loop - November 19, 2025

POPE LEO: SOLIDARITY WITH MIGRANTS NOT 'OPEN BORDERS'

Pope Leo made one of his clearest public interventions yet on immigration policy yesterday, telling journalists outside the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo that defending the dignity of migrants should never be confused with advocating for open borders.

EPSTEIN FILES MOVE SWIFTLY THROUGH CONGRESS

Senators agreed by unanimous consent yesterday to clear a bill directing the Justice Department to release the records tied to Jeffrey Epstein, positioning the measure for delivery to President Donald Trump's desk. Just hours earlier, the House approved the measure 427-1. The bill directs the attorney general to release unclassified records tied to Epstein, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and others referenced in connection with their crimes.

HORRIFIC ABUSE CASE HIGHLIGHTS DANGER TO MIGRANT KIDS

Federal authorities arrested two illegal immigrants accused of raping and torturing a young girl for years after the federal government released her in 2014 to a man who falsely claimed to be her great-uncle, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported yesterday.

SWITCH TO CHARITY MOBILE AND GET A FREE CHRISTMAS GIFT!

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SUPREME COURT TO HEAR KEY BORDER SECURITY CASE

The Supreme Court agreed this week to take up a major border security case over whether U.S. officials must process asylum seekers who remain on the Mexican side of a port of entry but attempt to request protection from U.S. officers. Here are the details.

SATANIC TEMPLE LOSES TO IDAHO'S PRO-LIFE LAW

A federal court has officially dismissed a lawsuit brought by The Satanic Temple against Idaho’s pro-life law, bringing an end to three years of litigation. The Temple had sued over the law, claiming it violated Satanists' "right" to practice ritualistic abortions for so-called "religious" purposes.

PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT IN FREE-FALL

Public school districts across the nation are struggling with declining enrollment, leading school authorities to consider cutting back staff or consolidating schools, an education news outlet reported earlier this month.

ACCESS 7 CATHOLIC MUTUAL FUNDS

With religious values guided by prominent Catholics, including Coach Lou Holtz, Callista Gingrich, and Michael Knowles.

POPE TOUTS BOTH TRADITION AND REFORM IN LITURGY

Pope Leo this week told diocesan liturgical pastoral workers participating in a Pontifical Liturgical Institute course that the institute does well to continue "in full fidelity to the liturgical tradition and to the reform desired by the Second Vatican Council," encouraging both attentiveness to timeless liturgical principles and reforms such as those that were called for by Pope Benedict XVI.

NIGERIAN PRIEST AMONG THOSE KIDNAPPED MONDAY

A Catholic priest was one of several people abducted Monday in the Archdiocese of Kaduna, in southern Nigeria, after a violent attack that also led to the death of another priest’s brother. Father Bobbo Paschal, a priest at the Saint Stephen Parish, was attacked in his home and abducted, along with many other locals.

NOT TO BE MISSED

Here are the stories we couldn’t fit in today’s LOOP:

FASCINATING! THE TOLKIEN-NEWMAN CONNECTION

J.R.R. Tolkien was born two years after the death of John Henry Newman. Both were Englishmen, but part of very different periods of history and produced very different types of literature. Still, there are many Newmanian connections in the life of Tolkien. Here's where they intertwined.

CATHOLIC 101

What if you don't like praying the Rosary? St. Thérèse of Lisieux famously struggled with it. Our individuality draws us each to different kinds of prayer, but certain prayers are universally and objectively the best. So how do we mold ourselves to a devotion that doesn't seem to fit us?

SAINT OF THE DAY

Saint Raphael Kalinowski (1835-1907) was a holy Polish man born under Russian rule. He was arrested by Russian authorities for his participation in the 1863 Polish uprising and sentenced to ten years of labor in the Siberian salt mines. There, he became known for his great charity to his fellow prisoners. After his release, Raphael became a Carmelite priest. Those who knew him referred to him as a “living prayer.”

DAILY PSALM

"Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full." (Psalm 17)

DAILY READINGS

Today's Mass readings.

FAITH IN PUBLIC LIFE

Canada Post just released a special Christmas stamp... featuring the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!