WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15

US AND IRAN WEIGHING SECOND ROUND OF TALKS AS CEASEFIRE DEADLINE NEARS Both sides are reportedly weighing in-person negotiations as early as Thursday before the ceasefire expires next week on April 21. Trump told the New York Post Pakistan is the likely venue. READ

REPORT: DOJ FIRES PROSECUTORS TIED TO BIDEN-ERA FACE ACT CASES The department said it terminated staff "responsible for weaponizing the FACE Act" following a new Department of Justice report finding the Biden administration targeted pro-life activists while overlooking attacks on pregnancy resource centers. READ

POPE LEO WALKS THE LAND OF AUGUSTINE Pope Leo XIV made a personal pilgrimage to Annaba, Algeria — the ancient city where Saint Augustine served as bishop. The Augustinian Pope laid a wreath at the ruins, planted an olive tree, and urged the small Christian community to be a quiet, fragrant witness of faith in a Muslim-majority nation. READ

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POLL: MAJORITY OF CATHOLICS DISAPPROVE OF TRUMP, WEEKLY MASSGOERS DON'T A new CBS/YouGov survey found 54% of Catholics disapprove of Trump's job performance, while weekly Massgoers broke with the trend, and 58% of them approve. READ

RELICS OF 36 CRISTERO WAR MARTYRS ARRIVE IN LA THIS WEEKEND The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is hosting a free one-day congress to venerate the relics of 36 saints martyred during Mexico's anti-Catholic Cristero War — including St. José Sánchez del Río, the teenage martyr who refused to renounce Christ before his execution. READ

TWO SUICIDE BOMBERS STRIKE CITY NEAR POPE LEO'S VISIT Two men detonated explosive vests in a city about 35 miles from where Pope Leo was speaking on the first day of his historic Apostolic Journey in Algeria, killing only themselves but injuring several others, according to reports. READ

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LANDMARK STUDY: YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH WORSENS AFTER GENDER 'TRANSITION' A Finnish study of 2,083 young people found that psychiatric needs did not improve after gender procedures, and in many cases increased. "Psychiatric needs do not subside after medical gender reassignment," the authors concluded. READ

TWO LAWMAKERS FROM OPPOSITE PARTIES RESIGN SAME DAY OVER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Tony Gonzales both announced their resignations as separate misconduct investigations — and looming expulsion votes — closed in. READ

NOT TO BE MISSED... Here are the stories we couldn't fit in today's LOOP

More than 800 Chicago Catholic school students are without academic support after the abrupt loss of federal funding. READ
A pro-life organization will defend abortion pill reversal at two key court cases. READ
Pope Leo XIV has formally called cardinals to a June consistory, urging the Church to center its mission on the kerygma, the proclamation of the risen Christ. READ

SKIP WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING FOR AN HEIRLOOM GOWN Zeale's Grace Porto writes about how she skipped traditional wedding dress shopping in favor of wearing her mother’s wedding gown, saying the heirloom choice eased stress, stayed within budget, and carried deeper meaning by connecting her marriage to her family’s faith and history. READ

CATHOLIC 101 Distinctions between men and women in the Church — including the all-male priesthood — are rooted in divine design rather than inequality, emphasizing that all share equal dignity while serving different roles within the body of Christ. READ

SAINT OF THE DAY St. Hunna, a 7th-century laywoman, is remembered for quietly serving the poor by washing clothing and linens for the sick, a grueling, day-long task in her time. Honored as the patron of washerwomen and domestic workers, she is venerated for making ordinary, unseen labor a steady work of mercy. READ

DAILY PSALM "The Lord hears the cry of the poor." (Psalm 34) READ

DAILY READINGS Today's Mass readings. READ

NEW EPISODE Why is the preservation of a nation essential to the common good? In the newest episode of The Virtue of Patriotism, Cardinal Raymond L. Burke examines the consequences of sacrificing national sovereignty in favor of a single global authority. Episode 4 is now streaming on Zeale. WATCH