NFL TAKES TRUMP’S BAIT President Trump said that NFL players who kneel during the National Anthem should be fired by their team’s owner. So on Sunday, over a hundred NFL athletes knelt during the National Anthem. Trump responded by calling for a boycott the NFL. http://cvote.it/2htojFe
FLASHBACK The Pittsburgh Steelers team stayed in the locker room during the National Anthem. Except for Catholic war hero Alejandro Villanueva, who served three tours in Afghanistan. He showed up on the sideline with his hand on his heart. The 2015 profile of this athlete from the National Catholic Register has a perfect headline: “NFL Soldier Stands Tall in the Catholic Church.” http://cvote.it/2hrd2cd
CORRECTING THE POPE Clergy and lay scholars issue a “filial correction” of Pope Francis — a mechanism not used since the Middle Ages. The writers behind the letter accuse Pope Francis of “propagating heresies,” but there is no accusation of formal heresy. http://cvote.it/2hsQTXn
BURKE: CLARITY NEEDED Cardinal Burke noted that faithful Catholics who have expressed concern over the confusion surrounding Amoris Laetitia love the Pope “with complete obedience to the office of Peter.” Yet at the same time, he said, “they don’t accept these questionable interpretations…of ‘Amoris Laetitia,’ — interpretations, which in fact contradict what the Church has always taught and practiced.” http://cvote.it/2hp6PO8
TRAVEL BAN 2.0 President Trump expanded the travel ban to eight countries. Three new countries on the list are Chad, North Korea, and Venezuela. One country, Sudan, is no longer on the travel ban list. http://cvote.it/2hqgjbP
CASSIDY-GRAHAM 2.0 When John McCain announced his no vote on Friday, Senators Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham didn’t quit. And tomorrow they are announcing the changes they’re making to the bill in hopes of getting majority support. CatholicVote received a copy of the text of the bill last night, and it appears to maintain all the pro-life protections as well as the defunding of Planned Parenthood, just like first bill did. The latest details on the new Cassidy-Graham bill: http://cvote.it/2htkErg
CAMPUS FREE SPEECH Attorney General Jeff Sessions will make a ‘free speech on campus’ address on Tuesday at Georgetown University Law Center. A source close the AG says he’ll tell students: “Whereas the American university was once the center of academic freedom — a place of robust debate, a forum for the competition of ideas — it is transforming into an echo chamber of political correctness and homogenous thought, a shelter for fragile egos.” http://cvote.it/2hrlwQG
MERKEL WINS IN GERMANY German Chancellor Angela Merkel wins a fourth term, but her party lost ground in Parliament. And a far-right party called Alternative for Germany now received 13.5% of the vote. http://cvote.it/2hsFAOU
EDITOR’S NOTE We’ve noticed that our new email format is not working well with those who read the Loop on Outlook. (The bottom image isn’t showing up correctly.) We hope to have this changed shortly. Thanks for your patience.
SAINT OF THE DAY Saints Louis Martin and Zélie Guerin – http://cvote.it/dailysaint
DAILY MASS READINGS “The Lord has done marvels for us.” (Ps 126:1) – http://cvote.it/Daily-Readings