The Chilean bishops’ have urged political leaders to step up to their responsibility to preserve the common good and deplored acts of anarchy and looting, most recently directed against church sites themselves. But is anyone listening to them?

"An economic system that is fair, trustworthy and capable of addressing the most profound challenges facing humanity and our planet is urgently needed," he said in a speech addressed to members of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism during an audience at the Vatican Nov. 11.

The quest for profit goes too far, he said, when businesses desert the workers and communities that made them profitable in the first place simply to make goods more cheaply in other countries.

Putting an end to the cultural pressure that prevents men from taking on caregiving roles.

The cardinal expects the synod’s final document to highlight the different levels of “responsibility towards Mother Earth, towards the natural environment, and on this we are all in agreement. What is said of Amazonia is also true of the Congo basin.”

Pope Francis said, “We must come to realize that what we are accumulating and wasting is the bread of the poor.”