Time magazine selected Pope Francis as its person of year. Saying the Roman Catholic church's new leader has changed the perception of the church in an extraordinary way in a short time.
The pope beat out NSA leaker Edward Snowden for the distinction, which the newsmagazine has been doing each year since 1925. The former Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was selected in march as the first Latin Pope, Since taking over at the Vatican, Francis 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 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 since his election, 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.
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