The LOOP
The Wednesday Loop - May 27, 2026
‘We don’t use him on social’: Washington Nationals executive caught on camera excluding Catholic pitcher for his faith
A senior Washington Nationals executive was caught on hidden camera saying the baseball team sidelines pitcher Trevor Williams from team social media content because of his Catholic faith and past public criticism of anti-Catholic mockery, according to undercover video released May 26 by the O'Keefe Media Group (OMG).
Democratic attorneys general skip Vance’s anti-fraud meeting
Vice President JD Vance's effort to build bipartisan support for a new federal anti-fraud initiative faced an early setback May 26 when a coalition of 23 Democratic attorneys general declined to participate in the White House roundtable on combating fraud in federal programs.
Federal court blocks Alabama GOP-backed map for 2026 midterms
A three-judge federal panel on May 26 blocked Alabama from using a 2023 congressional map drawn by Republican lawmakers, ruling that the plan intentionally discriminated against black voters in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The blocked map could have improved Republicans’ chances of picking up a House seat in the 2026 midterms.
Trump-backed Paxton defeats Cornyn in Texas Senate runoff
Texas voters chose Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate on May 26, capping one of the nation’s most expensive intraparty battles ever and setting up a November election campaign against Democrat James Talarico.
After leaving career, e.l.f. Cosmetics co-founder ordained to priesthood at 52
Father Scott Borba, co-founder of e.l.f. Cosmetics, a multibillion-dollar cosmetics company, was ordained to the Catholic priesthood May 23 in his hometown of Visalia, California, after leaving behind a career in the beauty industry and entering seminary in his 40s.
SSPX announces names of 4 future bishops, weeks after Vatican says bishop ordinations will constitute schism
The Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) announced May 26 the names of the four priests chosen to be ordained bishops in July, weeks after the Vatican doctrinal chief declared warned that the ordinations, which lack papal approval, would “constitute ‘a schismatic act.’”
US bishops’ conference president: New encyclical reminds us ‘no technology can replace a child of God’
Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), encouraged people in a May 25 message to read Pope Leo XIV’s 85-page encyclical on artificial intelligence (AI) and human dignity, extolling its proclamation of fundamental truths about human beings in an unprecedented technological age.
Planned Parenthood to offer ‘just in case’ abortion pills in Washington and Hawaii
Planned Parenthood has launched a new program in Washington state and Hawaii that allows women to obtain chemical abortion drugs before becoming pregnant, marking what appears to be the first initiative of its kind within the organization.
Unpacking Hippolytus: What an ancient Greek play can teach us about chastity
“A curse on all women! I shall never stop detesting them, not even if someone says I complain about them all the time.” This quote is not from a modern podcaster or an anonymous account on X. It is from the ancient Greek play Hippolytus, the story of a hero who refuses to sacrifice to Aphrodite.
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Learn More (opens in new tab)Saint of the Day
St. Augustine of Canterbury
a Benedictine monk sent by Pope Gregory the Great in 597, converted King Æthelberht of Kent and helped establish the English Church, earning the title “Apostle to the English.”
Psalm 147
Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.Read the full passage → (opens in new tab)
Today's Mass readings.
Full Readings at USCCB → (opens in new tab)Catholic 101
Catholic 101
The Church has always taught that the sacraments are far more than milestones — they're a path to Heaven. So is there such a thing as being too young to receive them? Here's what the Church says.
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