Time's Person of the Year - The Pope

[rayne008]

Time's Person of the Year


I'm far from religious, but I highly respect Pope Francis's message of greater inclusion of all of humanity regardless of race, religion or gender. He seems like a very humble and intelligent person, someone who leads by example.

I found the time article very informative.

[CaptainCrunch]

Itsa da fricken Pope

People need to get it right.

While I like his viewpoints on poverty and the church's changing roles in the world, this Pope is still very old school in a lot of his beliefs concerning gay marriage and contraceptives.

I think the church needs to do a radical reform ala edict of worms in order to become relevant in the world again and become a power for good.

While trying to do more for the poor is laudable, I don't believe that he's as strong of a reformer as people are thinking he is.

[MarchHare]

While trying to do more for the poor is laudable, I don't believe that he's as strong of a reformer as people are thinking he is.

Keep in mind he's been Pope for less than a year, and there's only so much he could have done in that time. I'll reserve full judgement until we can evaluate his accomplishments over a longer time period, but I'm very impressed by what I've seen of this Pope so far (and I say that as an ex-Catholic-turned-atheist).

[CaptainCrunch]

I am what everyone would considered to be a fallen catholic, while I'm not an atheist. (I still believe, but don't believe my viewpoint fits the church) I believe that a strongly reformed church could be a positive thing for those in need whether spiritually or materially.

I think stronger steps need to be taken to be more relevant in this day in time.

The one big benefit of the Catholic Church is it is based on central leadership so in theory reform should be easier if you have a pope and college that are interested in making the changes to move the church beliefs into this century.

[Hanni]

I'm not sure why taking some steps to bring your organization closer to the rest of the civilized world in terms of views warrants being person of the year. I don't judge people for their sexual orientation, or their stance on abortion, or because their women, maybe I should be person of the year.

[CaptainCrunch]

I'd vote for you for the right ahem inducements

[Maritime Q-Scout]

I'll start this post by saying in not Catholic.

Pope Francis doesn't fit the mould of what I think of when I think of the Pope. However, he does closely fit the mould of what I think the Pope should be.

I think he's taking the Catholic Church in the right direction.

Obviously the problems with the Church can't be fixed over night. How he treats the poor, children, and doesn't accept the riches of the church are all positive steps.

To my knowledge he hasn't flip-flopped Pope Benedict's approval of condoms. At the end of the day I don't care if he is anti-contraceptives so long as he doesn't change the policy approving them.

Once he has some experience, solidifies the people around him, and gets the right people in place with the right experience I would love to see him tackle the pedofila in the church, the coverups, and expose the child abusers. This is not something he could do on day one, nor year one. To be done right he has to be ready for a fight of epic proportions.

Will he be the one to tackle pedofila? I don't know, perhaps he will only have the ability to lay the ground work?

At the end of the day, I'm ok with him being Person of the Year, welcome him to the person if the year club for the second time.

Spoiler!

Pope Francis, or Jorge Bergoglio as he was known then, and I shared the Person of the Year award back in 2006.

[Puppet Guy]

considering that it took the Catholic Church almost 400 years to admit Galileo was right, it's incredible that even minor changes are occurring.

...and better Pope Francis as person of the year than Rob Ford.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

I'll start this post by saying in not Catholic.

Pope Francis doesn't fit the mould of what I think of when I think of the Pope. However, he does closely fit the mould of what I think the Pope should be.

I think he's taking the Catholic Church in the right direction.

Obviously the problems with the Church can't be fixed over night. How he treats the poor, children, and doesn't accept the riches of the church are all positive steps.

To my knowledge he hasn't flip-flopped Pope Benedict's approval of condoms. At the end of the day I don't care if he is anti-contraceptives so long as he doesn't change the policy approving them.

Once he has some experience, solidifies the people around him, and gets the right people in place with the right experience I would love to see him tackle the pedofila in the church, the coverups, and expose the child abusers. This is not something he could do on day one, nor year one. To be done right he has to be ready for a fight of epic proportions.

Will he be the one to tackle pedofila? I don't know, perhaps he will only have the ability to lay the ground work?

At the end of the day, I'm ok with him being Person of the Year, welcome him to the person if the year club for the second time.

Spoiler!

Pope Francis, or Jorge Bergoglio as he was known then, and I shared the Person of the Year award back in 2006.

This to me is the major one, and a key reason why I wouldn't return to the church anytime soon. There are other reasons but this is a big one.

I think the church has to realize that they can't help the pedophile priests or fix them and need to start ex-communicating them and handing them over to civilian justice.

I also think that they have to make a stronger effort to reach out to the victims and find a way to help them properly.

On top of that they need to bump up their investigative abilities. Pull their heads out of the sand and embrace some openness.

[Hanni]

I'm not saying he isn't a huge step in the right direction for the church, or that he isn't a good pope. I'm just not sure how saying the same things that many world leaders (and millions of people) have been saying for years warrants this amount of praise.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Hanni

I'm not sure why taking some steps to bring your organization closer to the rest of the civilized world in terms of views warrants being person of the year. I don't judge people for their sexual orientation, or their stance on abortion, or because their women, maybe I should be person of the year.

Contrary to popular belief, Time's Person of the Year is not an award akin to the Nobel Prize but rather a selection by Time's editors about who "for better or for worse has done the most to influence the events of the year." By that metric, Pope Francis is a worthy choice.

I still think they're a bunch of cowards for not selecting Osama bin Laden as Person of the Year in 2001 since he unquestionably had the largest impact on global affairs that year. Unfortunately, Time's editorial board caved to pressure by a bunch of idiots who threatened to cancel their subscriptions if they made that choice.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Contrary to popular belief, Time's Person of the Year is not an award akin to the Nobel Prize but rather a selection by Time's editors about who "for better or for worse has done the most to influence the events of the year." By that metric, Pope Francis is a worthy choice.

I still think they're a bunch of cowards for not selecting Osama bin Laden as Person of the Year in 2001 since he unquestionably had the largest impact on global affairs that year. Unfortunately, Time's editorial board caved to pressure by a bunch of idiots who threatened to cancel their subscriptions if they made that choice.

and by that metric it ought to have been Snowden, hands down.

[CaptainCrunch]

Two time two time two time man of the year

Another 2x 2x man of the year

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

This to me is the major one, and a key reason why I wouldn't return to the church anytime soon. There are other reasons but this is a big one.

I think the church has to realize that they can't help the pedophile priests or fix them and need to start ex-communicating them and handing them over to civilian justice.

I also think that they have to make a stronger effort to reach out to the victims and find a way to help them properly.

On top of that they need to bump up their investigative abilities. Pull their heads out of the sand and embrace some openness.

I don't think he has to be the face of that fight, but he needs to start it.

Which means we might not know his true legacy for years after his death.

Maybe he'll continue the coverup?

Despite not being Catholic I do live on Cape Breton Island in the Diocese of Antigonish. One of the worst known diocese for child abuse in the country. The Fifth Estate did a documentary on the priests in the area, and after a settlement was reached in principle with the victims and properties put up for sale to raise funds for the settlement (which angered locals as the Vatican is uber-rich and the Diocese of Antigonish relatively poor) only to have the bishop (I think was his title) Father Abass arrested for child pornography.

I know families effected by these abuses.

This NEEDS to be addressed. But needs to be addressed properly. It can't be rushed, especially after what happened last time.

I don't know if Pope Francis is the guy to do it, or even if he'll try. But he is the closest we've ever had.

Remember Pope Benedict actively covered up these attorcities, it was his job before Pope. There needs to be an institutional change before the purge of pedofiles starts and is made public.

[habernac]

Captain, Man of the Year doesn't mean they were good men. It just meant they generated a lot of news, no?

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

I don't think he has to be the face of that fight, but he needs to start it.

Which means we might not know his true legacy for years after his death.

Maybe he'll continue the coverup?

[...]

I don't know if Pope Francis is the guy to do it, or even if he'll try. But he is the closest we've ever had.

Remember Pope Benedict actively covered up these attorcities, it was his job before Pope. There needs to be an institutional change before the purge of pedofiles starts and is made public.

Perhaps you missed this story from last week:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pope-fr...buse-1.2452054

Pope Francis is assembling a panel of experts to advise him on sex abuse in the clergy — a task that will involve looking at how to protect children from pedophiles, how to better screen men for the priesthood and how to help victims who have already been harmed.

[Hanni]

Originally Posted by habernac

Captain, Man of the Year doesn't mean they were good men. It just meant they generated a lot of news, no?

That was my misunderstanding as well.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Perhaps you missed this story from last week:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pope-fr...buse-1.2452054

Actually I did miss that.

Steps in the right direction. The more I learn of the man the more I like him.

Hopefully this isn't rushed and the panel will have the power to enact change. Even if it doesn't it's a start and the wheels are in motion. Rome wasn't built in a day (pardon the pun).

[Ark2]

I heard that at one point, Miley Cyrus was the front-runner for Person of the Year, so I think this is a much better choice.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Slava

and by that metric it ought to have been Snowden, hands down.

yup. The New Yorker agrees with you.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blog...-the-year.html