NEW YORK (AP) — Time magazine selected
Pope Francis as its Person of the Year on
Wednesday, saying the Catholic Church's
new leader has changed the perception of
the 2,000-year-old institution in an
extraordinary way in a short time.
The pope beat out NSA leaker Edward
Snowden for the distinction, which the
newsmagazine has been giving each year
since 1927.
The former Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario
Bergoglio was elected in March as the first
pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit.
Since taking over at the Vatican, he has
urged the Catholic Church not to be
obsessed with "small-minded rules" and to
emphasize compassion over condemnation
in dealing with touchy topics like abortion,
gays and contraception.
He has denounced the world's "idolatry of
money" and the "global scandal" that nearly
1 billion people today go hungry, and has
charmed the masses with his simple style
and wry sense of humor. His appearances
draw tens of thousands of people and his @
Pontifex Twitter account recently topped 10
million followers.
"He really stood out to us as someone who
has changed the tone and the perception
and the focus of one of the world's largest
institutions in an extraordinary way," said
Nancy Gibbs, the magazine's managing
editor.
The Vatican said the honor wasn't
surprising given the resonance in the
general public that Francis has had, but it
nevertheless said the choice was a "positive"
recognition of spiritual values in the
international media.
"The Holy Father is not looking to become
famous or to receive honors," said the
Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico
Lombardi. "But if the choice of Person of
Year helps spread the message of the Gospel
— a message of God's love for everyone —
he will certainly be happy about that."
It was the third time a Catholic pope had
been Time's selection. John Paul II was
selected in 1994 and John XXIII was chosen
in 1962.
In Argentina on Wednesday, Padre Toto, one
of the many "slum priests" the pope
supported for years as archbishop of
Buenos Aires, praised Time magazine's
selection.
"I think the recognition of Time magazine is
good news, because Pope Francis embodies
one of the values of a church that's more
missionary, closer to the people, more
austere, more in keeping with the gospel,"
Toto said. "He had the genius of knowing
how to express this sense of the church and
hopefully his way of being will catch on with
other political leaders, business executives,
sports figures. His leadership is inspiring."
Besides Snowden, Time had narrowed its
finalists down to gay rights activist Edith
Windsor, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and
Syrian President Bashar Assad.
President Barack Obama was Time's
selection for 2012.
Time editors make the selection. The
magazine polled readers for their choice,
and the winner was Egyptian General Abdel-
Fattah el-Sissi, who didn't even make the top
10 of Time's final list.
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