Holiday
I had a very nice holiday with my sister Anne-Marie. We
spent three days with our brother Peter, and were able to
catch up with five other siblings, which was terrific, as well
as wonderful time with a cousin and the same also for those
who know him, with Terry Lovat.
There were many rainy days, and a bit of work during a
holiday is part of
reality for me. This
letter includes some
information on AI that
I gathered during my
holiday. That has made
this a rather large edition. Despite that
interesting ‘work’, it was relaxing to not have daily expectations and schedules, and
to have time to sleep or rest, whenever the urge was strong, to have long walks and
to enjoy the beach (as the photo shows).
Special thanks to Erick, for continuing the newsletter so well, while I was away.

What childhood trauma does to the brain (Brian)
Jo Skinner 26th March 2026
There are some patients that stay with you forever. I was a young registrar when I
met Abby, who came in distraught on behalf of her husband Adam. ‘He was always a
fun, family man who worked hard and adored his two sons. Six months ago, he
seemed to change overnight. I just don’t know him anymore. He’s lost his job and
developed a serious cannabis habit. He’s never done drugs before, I mean he barely
drank alcohol.’
Abby brought a couple of photographs to show me. There was one of a smiling Adam
on a camping trip with his sons and another where he was receiving an award for a
research project he’d undertaken. Adam agreed to come and see me. I would not
have recognised him from the photographs, as he was dishevelled, with a shaggy
beard, and wouldn’t look me in the eye. He was not very communicative.
I considered a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and sought advice from
colleagues. He declined psychiatric assessment. It was a few months before I thought
to ask him about his family growing up. They lived remotely, so he went to boarding
school from a young age. He confided that he had been sexually assaulted by one of
the staff from the age of ten to sixteen years, but never told anybody as he was filled
with shame. When his eldest son turned ten, he found he couldn’t face himself
anymore and considered ending his life several times. ‘They’d be better off without
me.’

Laudato Si Week (Brian)
Laudato Si week runs from May 17th
-24th, 2026.
Laudato Si is a major Catholic teaching document (encyclical) written by Pope Francis
in 2015. The title means 'Praise be to you' and comes
from St Francis of Assisi’s prayer praising God for
creation. The document teaches that Earth is our
common home and a gift from God, and that all
people have a responsibility to care for creation. The
encyclical explains that environmental damage and
climate change affects everyone, especially those who are poor and vulnerable.
Laudati Si highlights that all life shares a common origin from a divine creator which
means everything is connected. We need to reflect on the meaning and the
responsibility of living in a world and among people where everything and everyone
is interconnected.

Easter calls us to practice resurrection in a fractured world (not too late to share)
A view of Earth, partially hidden by the
moon, is photographed through the Orion
spacecraft window on April 6, 2026,
during the Artemis II crew's flyby of the
moon. (OSV News/NASA handout via
Reuters)
BY EILIS MCCULLOH April 24, 2026
Eilis McCulloh, HM is a Sister of the Humility of Mary. She
currently serves as the Grassroots Education and Organising
Specialist at NETWORK Lobby and is a graduate of The University
of Akron School of Law. She has extensively ministered alongside
the refugee and immigrant communities.

Jerome’s Missionary Stories – A
During the next four weeks we will be sharing
Jerome’s stories from his missionary experience
in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The following are
some of the script from an interview with him.
Most of the images used below are not of Jerome
but similar indication of what it was like for him.
You can also watch this first part on Jerome’s
YouTube Channel as Tri kindly filmed and created
the channel.
Click here to watch: https://youtu.be/ltkr_JO28mw?si=Tzks5MPGBEWnM1XX
You can also search on YouTube, the name ‘Jerome’s Missionary Stories’
Follow and subscribe to be notified when new stories are posted.

Think Trump v Leo is bad? It would have been worse under Pope Francis (Brian)
Philippa Martyr Apr 15, 2026
The American pope knows exactly who the US president is. He has the full cultural
and emotional backstory needed to remain calm in the face of it. When the Donald
Trump-Pope Leo spat began, I am almost ashamed to say my
first thought was one of relief that Pope Francis was no lo
nger with us. I can only imagine the embarrassing personal
name-calling, attempted one-upmanship, rash political and
doctrinal statements later having to be walked back, and epic
Latin American tantrums that would have emerged from the late pontiff.
As an American, Pope Leo has the full measure of the culture that produced Donald
Trump. As a born and bred Argentinian who managed to remain Archbishop of
Buenos Aires for 15 years without too many obvious problems, Francis hated the
United States. He was dismissive and contemptuous of the vibrant Catholic scene
there. He especially hated its most vigorous and rapidly growing sector – young
religious and political conservatives, formed by active college ministries and gifted
bishops, evangelists, and teachers.

Pope decries horror, inhumanity that ‘some adults boast of with pride’
Carol Glatz 4:21 PM April 11, 2026
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Warning against an increasingly unpredictable and
aggressive “delusion of omnipotence” threatening the globe, Pope Leo XIV called on
world leaders and individuals to empty their hearts and minds of hatred and
violence, and to start serving life. “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough
of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life,” he
said during a special evening prayer vigil for
peace in St. Peter’s Basilica April 11. “Those
who pray are aware of their own limitations;
they do not kill or threaten with death,” he
said. “Instead, death enslaves those who have
turned their backs on the living God, turning
themselves and their own power into a mute,
blind and deaf idol, to which they sacrifice
every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee. Let us listen to the
voices of children,” who write to him all the time, recounting “all the horror and
inhumanity of actions that some adults boast of with pride,” he said.

Threat against people of Iran unacceptable: (Cath News……8 April 2026)
Pope Leo XIV asked “all people of goodwill to always search for peace and to reject
war,” and called for a return to the negotiating table to pursue peaceful solutions,
noting that attacks on civilian infrastructure are against international law. “Search
always for peace and reject war.”
Pope Leo renewed that appeal for peace in a brief statement on Tuesday evening to
a group of journalists waiting for him outside Villa Barberini, the papal residence in
Castel Gandolfo. Against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war against Iran and US
President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy “the whole Iranian civilisation” on
Tuesday night (10am Wednesday AEST) if Tehran does not comply with a deadline
set by the White House to reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Pope said
he wished simply to say, once again, what he had said in his Urbi et Orbi message on
Sunday, “asking all people of goodwill to always search for peace and not violence, to
reject war – especially a war which many people have said is unjust, which is
continuing to escalate and which is not resolving anything”.

Bro David Leary OFK introduced some of us to Artur Dron
and the beautiful and powerful poem he wrote in 2023 titled
(“The First Letter to the Corinthians”) as a response to his
experiences as a wounded combatant in Ukraine’s armed
forces. The poem pulls three direct quotations from 1
Corinthians 13, a Bible chapter that is frequently used in
wedding ceremonies. However, the context and message
of this chapter are not primarily about romantic love
between two people. Instead, it provides a fuller insight
into the life of an early Christian community and the strengths and weaknesses of
this small group.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul explains that the root problem of this
community is a lack of love and emphasizes the necessity, character, and
permanence of love. Dron chooses each of the three verses from 1
Corinthians 13 in his poem to reveal how these aspects of love are
altered and take on new meaning in times of war. Dron has
included this poem in a book that attempts to feature the voices
of people who can no longer speak for themselves, to keep alive
their dreams and memories, and their hopes for peace and
freedom for Ukraine.

Part 2 of a response to the reflection forbidden tree and a troubling picture of God
During the Great Plague or Black Death in the 14th century,
preachers continually reminded people that the evil plague was
the result of their sins. It is estimated that at least 25,000,000
people died from that plague. Some questioned ‘is this the end of
the world?” In a similar way modern day fundamentalists have
preached that AIDS or various natural disasters are a punishment
sent from God for people’s sins.
Biblical literature records a similar explanation for people’s
suffering and the state of the world, but punishment was always followed by
blessing. There was an ongoing struggle in Israelite history for people to overcome
their own sins so as to return to God’s favour, and more particularly, when in exile,
that they would return to Jerusalem. Biblical scholar N T Wright has suggested that
this in fact could be considered as the major focus of Judaism.
The explanation for the state of the world, for a great deal of human suffering,
extinction and death, when looking at life through the lens of evolution, is entirely
different. These elements are interwoven with the
unfolding of life through billions of years. Whereas in
traditional Christianity, death has been considered a
penalty for sin, in evolution, death is a biological
necessity that leads to transformation.