'The poor no longer wait, they seek to be protagonists'

Burials that are dignified and safe are urgently needed for Ebola victims in West Africa, where corpses are frequently left unattended for days and then thrown into graves without ceremony, a U.S. church aid official said."So many people are dying that there has not been the capacity to respond

God remains the one who set all of creation into motion

In letter, leaders quote extensively from the Quran to rebuke ISIS' tactics and actions.

Synod calls the faithful 'to walk alongside people in difficult or exceptional situations.'

Looking ahead to the October 2015 world Synod of Bishops on the family, Cardinal George Pell said the task for Catholics "over the next 12 months" is to explain "the necessity of conversion, the nature of the Mass," and "the purity of heart the Scriptures require of us to re