I am not speaking of faith in God, but rather faith in the wisdom of humanity in one small decision that was announced today - Time magazine's 2013 Person of the Year. This acknowledgement goes to the person who has has "the most impact upon the world and the news - for better or worse - over the past year." I posted on Monday on the list of candidates that was made known that morning.
Time magazine's 2013 Person of the Year is Pope Francis. In the choice, his humility and compassion were brought forth as powerful dynamics of the man that has drawn countless people worldwide to look afresh at him and the Church that he shepherds. He is the third Pope to be so named, with Pope John XXIII in 1962 and Pope John Paul II in 1995, both to be recognized by the Church as saints in the coming year. John XXIII, of course, with the renewal brought about by Vatican Council II and John Paul II for so many reasons, primarily in the renewed vitality of faith and in the struggle against oppression.
The others in the top five included Edward Snowden, the U.S. whistle blower, Edith Windsor, the gay activist who brought about a reversal of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) by the Supreme Court, President Bashar Assad of Syria and Senator Ted Cruz of the U.S. Congress. Pope Francis was chosen by the editors, but also received 59% of the popular vote.
Obviously I am appreciative of the fact that the editors of Time saw the impact of Pope Francis not only on the Church but the world family as well. Just yesterday the Vatican announced a global initiative to focus on dealing with world hunger through the Church's various organizations and advocacy and leadership on the international level. More on that at another time. But for the moment, in an example of wise decision making, Miley Cyrus (also on the top ten list) did not win out over Pope Francis.
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