Pope Francis, Time’s Person of the Year

Pope Francis is Time magazine’s person of the year 2013. He took the name of a humble saint and then called for a church of healing. The septuagenarian superstar is poised to transform a place that measures change by the century, declared Time on Wednesday.
Times’ Howard Chua-Eoan explained in a video at the magazine’s website as to why Pope Francis is Time’s person of the year 2013. He said:
He is the first Pope from the New World, certainly the first one from Latin America. That alone is historic. He comes at a time when the Church seems in need of a huge burst of energy. He has this charisma which comes from nowhere. He is 77. Suddenly he is hugging people you would not even want to touch, he is washing the feet of convicts….. he says he wants a battle-field hospital church, helping anyone who is in trouble, lonely, who needs an embrace. He is specially caring for the poor. That’s the strongest message. That brings back so much of what the Church is trying to do since 1960s……..

Time’s cover story on Pope Francis state: …. 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. People weary of the endless parsing of sexual ethics, the buck-passing infighting over lines of authority when all the while (to borrow from Milton), “the hungry Sheep look up, and are not fed.” 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. John Paul II and Benedict XVI were professors of theology. Francis is a former janitor, nightclub bouncer, chemical technician and literature teacher……..

Commenting on Pope Francis’ selection as Time’s Person of the Year, Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Press Office of the Holy See, said: ‘this is not surprising, given the huge resonance and the attention he received at his election as Pope and the beginning of his new pontificate. It is a positive sign that one of the most prestigious awards in the field of international press is given to one who announces the world's spiritual​​, religious and moral values, and one who speaks effectively in favor of peace and justice.

As for the Pope, he does not seek fame and success, because it is his duty to proclaim the Gospel of God's love for all. If this attracts men and women and gives them hope, the Pope is happy, added Fr. Lombardi.
Source: Varie