WASHINGTON: Time magazine named Pope Francis its Person of the Year yesterday, crediting him with shifting the message of the Catholic Church while capturing the imagination of millions of people who had become disillusioned with the Vatican.
This is the third time the magazine has chosen a pope as its Person of the Year. Time gave that honour to Pope John Paul II in 1994 and to Pope John XXIII in 1963.
Pope Francis beat former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and gay rights activist Edith Windsor for the award. Other finalists included Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and US Senator Ted Cruz from Texas.
"What makes this Pope so important is the speed with which he has captured the imaginations of millions who had given up on hoping for the church at all," Time said.
Comforter
"In a matter of months, Francis has elevated the healing mission of the church - the church as servant and comforter of hurting people in an often harsh world - above the doctrinal police work so important to his recent predecessors."
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Pope Francis was not seeking fame.
"It is a positive sign that one of the most prestigious recognitions by the international media has been given to a person who proclaims to the world spiritual, religious and moral values and speaks out forcefully in favour of peace and greater justice," Lombardi said.
In September, the Argentine pontiff gave a groundbreaking interview in which he said the Vatican must shake off an obsession with teachings on abortion, contraception and homosexuality and become more merciful.
His style is also characterised by a public move to frugality. He has shunned the traditional Mercedes previous popes drove for a 1984 Renault 4 economy car with 300,000 km.
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