Pope Francis is the first Latin American to be elected to the chair of St Peter. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was ordained as a priest in 1969. He served as head of the Society of Jesus in Argentina from 1973 to 1979. In 1998 he became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and in 2001 a cardinal. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in February 2013, Bergoglio was elected as his successor. He chose the papal name Francis in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi.

After ten years as Pope, Francis has made his clearest statement yet of precisely how we need to change as a civilisation. Very much an act of the 'teaching Church', this bold and practically relevant document does not hesitate to turn a prophetic eye on the Church herself. The vision is an uncompromising espousal of comprehensive nonviolence. In a world which seems every day rougher and more caustic, such a call will seem hopelessly idealistic, even dangerously foolish. And yet, Francis is surely correct to identify so many aspects of our current predicament and to spell out that 'the choice today is either nonviolence or nonexistence.'

Pope Francis is the first Latin American to be elected to the chair of St Peter. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was ordained as a priest in 1969. He served as head of the Society of Jesus in Argentina from 1973 to 1979. In 1998 he became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and in 2001 a cardinal. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in February 2013, Bergoglio was elected as his successor. He chose the papal name Francis in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi.

After ten years as Pope, Francis has made his clearest statement yet of precisely how we need to change as a civilisation. Very much an act of the 'teaching Church', this bold and practically relevant document does not hesitate to turn a prophetic eye on the Church herself. The vision is an uncompromising espousal of comprehensive nonviolence. In a world which seems every day rougher and more caustic, such a call will seem hopelessly idealistic, even dangerously foolish. And yet, Francis is surely correct to identify so many aspects of our current predicament and to spell out that 'the choice today is either nonviolence or nonexistence.'