FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16

GEORGIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY TESTIFIES Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took the stand Thursday in a case that the judge has said could result in her disqualification from prosecuting former President Donald Trump. Willis admitted that she was in a romantic relationship with the man she hired as special prosecutor in the racketeering case against the former president, but claims no conflict of interest since she says the relationship started after the prosecution began. READ

TURNER FACES CRITICISM FOR ‘NATIONAL SECURITY’ WARNING House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-OH, on Thursday defended his decision to sound the alarm over an unspecified “national security threat.” Russia is reportedly developing a weapon capable of killing U.S. military communications operating via satellite in space. READ

DOJ SUES TENNESSEE OVER LAW AGAINST SPREADING HIV The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday sued the state of Tennessee over a law protecting people from the spread of HIV. The law heavily penalizes people who engage in prostitution while knowingly infected with HIV. The DOJ claims the legislation violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. READ

SOROS BUYS UP HUGE CHUNK OF U.S. RADIO A George Soros company is poised to take a massive stake in the nation’s second-largest radio company, which owns more than 220 stations nationwide. A source close to the situation told the New York Post he believed Soros will use the stations to influence public opinion in the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election. READ

HOUSE PASSES HUMAN TRAFFICKING BILL IN LANDSLIDE The House this week passed legislation to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act “in a landslide vote of 414-11” to help strengthen the fight against human trafficking. Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ, a Catholic, authored the legislation. READ

CATHOLIC MOM KILLED IN SUPER BOWL PARTY SHOOTING A shooting at a packed Super Bowl victory rally in downtown Kansas City left nearly two dozen people injured and one dead. Lisa Lopez-Galvan was a Catholic mother of two. She worked as a radio DJ and attended Sacred Heart-Guadalupe Parish. READ

IGNATIUS RELEASES BOOK ON ‘DETRANSITIONERS’ A new book gives the ever-increasing number of detransitioners a voice by calling attention to the lies and the medical, mental, and physical abuse of the “trans” agenda. READ

LOOPcast Zelenskyy scores billions, the border scores z$ro, Josh takes School House Rock to a whole new level, and Tom’s just hangry about ICE. Has the Vatican turned into a Jesuit university? And what ever happened to “The Population Bomb?” All this and more. LISTEN

KIDS’ CRAZY QUESTIONS Children often ask the most insightful (or unnerving) questions about the faith! We want to hear from you – what is the toughest thing your child (or cousin or friend) has ever asked you about God, the saints, or the faith? Your young Aquinas may just be featured in the LOOP! EMAIL

‘DISAPPEARING CARDINAL’ RESIGNS The press office of the Holy See announced this week that Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán, 79, the Panamanian prelate who mysteriously disappeared and reappeared after a nationwide police mobilization. READ

CLASSIC NOVELS FOR YOUR MARRIAGE As common as marriage is, it remains rather a big mystery. How can two fundamentally different people, always changing, remain together in love for all of life? There are novels, essays, studies, and Catholic documents that illustrate the ideals of marriage. But where do we go for examples of how marriage looks and works in real life? Here are five novels that offer just that. READ

CATHOLIC 101 Your refrigerators are doubtless stocked with fish sticks, fish patties, fish filets, and maybe a little crab (if your family is into that kind of thing). We give up meat on Fridays in Lent: it’s what we do, and we don’t think too much about it. But what’s the difference between, say, a pan-fried chicken and a pan-fried fish? Why is one a penance and the other a temporarily forbidden fruit? READ

SAINT OF THE DAY St. Onesimus was a slave in the first century whose master was converted after hearing St. Paul preach. In a letter to Philemon, Paul asked that Onesimus be freed to join in the apostle’s missionary travels. According to tradition, Onesimus went on to become the bishop of Ephesus and was martyred for his faith in 90, A.D. READ

DAILY PSALM “A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” (Psalm 51:19) READ

DAILY READINGS Today's Mass readings READ

MUSIC Enjoy the official music video for Brother Isaiah's original song "Come, Follow Me" off his album "Poco a Poco." Featuring footage from a "day-in-the-life" of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal! WATCH