+Frank B. Subscriber² Posted December 11, 2013 Subscriber² Share Posted December 11, 2013 Pope Francis named Time Person of the Year 2013 (CNN) -- Time has named Pope Francis its person of the year. Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina is known as a humble man, a capable administrator and -- as expected of a new Pope -- a man of great faith. He is also a man of many firsts: the first non-European Pope in the modern era; the first pontiff from South America; and the first Jesuit to be elected head of the Roman Catholic Church. In his first public act, the new Pope broke with tradition by asking the estimated 150,000 people packed into St. Peter's Square to pray for him, rather than bless the crowd first. Francis, 76, was born in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936. The son of an Italian immigrant, he trained as a chemist before deciding to become a priest. He was ordained by the Jesuits in 1969 and became co-archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1997, then sole archbishop of that city one year later. He was made a cardinal in 2001 and was president of the Argentine bishops conference from 2005 to 2011. As cardinal, Francis clashed with the government of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over his opposition to gay marriage and free distribution of contraceptives. He was runner-up in the 2005 papal conclave, behind then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, according to a profile by CNN Vatican analyst John Allen published by the National Catholic Reporter. The new Pope brings together the first and the developing worlds, Allen writes. Besides his Italian roots, Francis studied theology in Germany. His career coincided with the so-called Dirty War in Argentina, which lasted from 1976 to 1983. It is estimated that as many as 30,000 people were killed or disappeared during the country's military dictatorship. The church was seen by some as not having done enough in that period. In particular, Francis was accused in a complaint filed three days before the 2005 conclave of complicity in the 1976 kidnapping of two liberal Jesuit priests, Allen writes. Francis reportedly denied the charge. He is known for his simplicity and has a reputation of being a voice for the poor. Source: CNN Albert 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick H. Supervisor Posted December 11, 2013 Supervisor Share Posted December 11, 2013 Quite deserved. Certainly one of the popest Popes to have...poped while I've been paying attention. The Evil Overlord, ClassicTrekker and Albert 3 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mirumir Subscriber¹ Posted December 11, 2013 Subscriber¹ Share Posted December 11, 2013 He is also a man of many firsts: the first non-European Pope in the modern era; the first pontiff from South America; and the first Jesuit to be elected head of the Roman Catholic Church. This organization (the Society of Jesus) is shrouded in secrecy. It was them who organized The Gunpowder Plot (aka the Jesuit Treason) :shiftyninja: imho they are like the CIA of the Roman Church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Method Man Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Not bad, though I thought Snowden was the best candidate. +Warwagon and GotBored 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonkwell Bogtrotter Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 What have The Romans ever done for us? The Evil Overlord 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellboundIRL Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 The problem is he's still the head of a corrupt evil institution and I really don't believe he's any different to the others before, it's all PR but it seems to be working for him I guess. They'd continue to cover up all of their abuses if they could, they just realise now it's hurting their numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soldiers33 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 quite deserved? What has he done to deserve anything? All they do is misguide people. hdca18 and HellboundIRL 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 It's not really anything spectacular to get this award. Laughably, Obama got it again last year, and what has he done for the world except make a laughing stock of the US?. Just look at the nominees this year. Miley Cyrus? The presidents of Syria and Iran? Granted, this isn't intended purely for good people, it seems they struggle to even fill up the list. Of anybody on the list, I'm glad the Pope got it. I don't agree with some of things he stands for, but he's probably had the largest world-wide effect/exposure on the world, and he's supporting modern views. GotBored 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 It's not really anything spectacular to get this award. Laughably, Obama got it again last year, and what has he done for the world except make a laughing stock of the US?. Just look at the nominees this year. Miley Cyrus? The presidents of Syria and Iran? Granted, this isn't intended purely for good people, it seems they struggle to even fill up the list. Of anybody on the list, I'm glad the Pope got it. I don't agree with some of things he stands for, but he's probably had the largest world-wide effect/exposure on the world, and he's supporting modern views. why do Americans think the world thinks Obama makes America look like a laughing stock. the world thinks he's the least laughing stocky president you have had in the history of you nation, but you could still do better;) GotBored, theyarecomingforyou, FiB3R and 1 other 4 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Method Man Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 It's not really anything spectacular to get this award. Laughably, Obama got it again last year, and what has he done for the world except make a laughing stock of the US?. Just look at the nominees this year. Miley Cyrus? The presidents of Syria and Iran? Granted, this isn't intended purely for good people, it seems they struggle to even fill up the list. Of anybody on the list, I'm glad the Pope got it. I don't agree with some of things he stands for, but he's probably had the largest world-wide effect/exposure on the world, and he's supporting modern views. Its basically a rubber stamp to give the winner of the Presidential election Time PoY. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Person_of_Year theyarecomingforyou 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 why do Americans think the world thinks Obama makes America look like a laughing stock. the world thinks he's the least laughing stocky president you have had in the history of you nation, but you could still do better;) Well he has made us a laughing stock. He got elected twice by basically being the biggest liar. People hated Bush because he was war hungry, but Obama has supported the exact same things and has been arguably worse with the mess in Benghazi and Syria. He ran his mouth way too early and we're lucky he didn't pull the trigger. How many times has he side-stepped our constitution? He promised he would lower the deficit, and he's done the exact opposite. He forced this healthcare mess on us, using a shady loophole, and promised people they could keep their plans, but it was another lie. It's been lie after lie, and all he's done is increase taxes on the high and middle class, which has improved nothing. You'd think the lower class would start to shrink, but it's actually getting bigger. Unemployment is still laughable, people have less money in their pockets, and the dollar is becoming more worthless due to his reckless spending. On top of it all, he's caused this country to become more divided than ever before. When else in our history has it been such a hostile battle of Democrats vs Republicans? Don't get me wrong, both sides are to blame on this one, but for his complete presidency, he's shown absolute no capacity to compromise with opposing views. And that's exactly where this hostility is rooting from. I'm simply ashamed of this because the worldwide media is balls deep in our issues more than ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyarecomingforyou Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Well he has made us a laughing stock. He got elected twice by basically being the biggest liar. People hated Bush because he was war hungry, but Obama has supported the exact same things and has been arguably worse with the mess in Benghazi and Syria. With Syria he threatened military action and then worked with Russia to create a landmark chemical weapons disarmament. The biggest criticism is that he threatened military action in the first place and that it was focused on regime change, though thankfully he didn't follow through. Benghazi isn't even worth talking about, as much worse attacks occurred under Bush without any scrutiny - it's a made up scandal. As for being a laughing stock, he is certainly an improvement from Bush and Romney (though that's not saying much). Anyway, as much as I despise religion I have to say that Pope Francis has been a positive influence on the world and has shown what religion should be about. He is very deserving of the award, though Time itself has no credibility. GotBored, Cute James, +Raze and 2 others 5 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 With Syria he threatened military action and then worked with Russia to create a landmark chemical weapons disarmament. The biggest criticism is that he threatened military action in the first place and that it was focused on regime change, though thankfully he didn't follow through. Benghazi isn't even worth talking about, as much worse attacks occurred under Bush without any scrutiny - it's a made up scandal. As for being a laughing stock, he is certainly an improvement from Bush and Romney (though that's not saying much). Anyway, as much as I despise religion I have to say that Pope Francis has been a positive influence on the world and has shown what religion should be about. He is very deserving of the award, though Time itself has no credibility. Eh, who knows how Romney would have done. He was socially stupid, but in my opinion he would have handled the state of the economy better. I personally think the financial state of individuals and the economy are more important than social issues, but to each their own. Social issues seem to be decided on the state-level anyway. You're right that Bush's downfall was the attacks and wars. We did get rid of a dictator, but I don't think it was our business to get involved with that crap. Afghanistan can kind of be justified since Al Quida directly attacked us, but it was a larger hunt than it should have been. Regardless, between the war and 9/11, the overall state of the economy under Bush was pretty darn good. Taxes were low, unemployment was low, education was up, housing was way up. And then the financial crisis occurred, which was something that wasn't Bush's fault. Sure there's things he could have done differently, but that's assuming he saw the tidal wave coming, which I highly doubt he did. I think it's a little too soon to say whether Bush was worse than Obama, since we still have a couple years left. The deciding factor is probably doing to be Obamacare. If it turns out to be a success and it financially works, then he'll deserve some credit for getting the ball rolling. If it turns into a bigger disaster and bankrupts the country, then he'll probably go down as one of the biggest failures in US history. People forget all the good things Bush did for the country and blow him off because of the wars. Well Obama doesn't have a very long list of good things he's done, so if Obamacare doesn't make it onto that list, his image will never be positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 'Man of the Year' has never been some kind of honor. It is a person that has had a lot of influence, made News, caused change -- good or bad. Hitler was once Man of the Year. ;) hdca18 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdca18 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 quite deserved? What has he done to deserve anything? All they do is misguide people. I am inclined to agree. Certainly not 'deserved.' I'm sure his few small acts of altruism and spiritualism benefited few, and made others richer. I'm sure many other heroes can be found to be voted person of the year. Again this is corporate run media propaganda- B-S, and to expect 'Time' to appoint anyone truly deserving of that title, is to expect a miracle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted December 12, 2013 Member Share Posted December 12, 2013 Quite deserved. Certainly one of the popest Popes to have...poped while I've been paying attention. Just what has he done to deserve it? John S. 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Red King Subscriber² Posted December 12, 2013 Subscriber² Share Posted December 12, 2013 I sure haven't heard anything bad about the guy. If Fox News hates him, he must be doing something right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Overlord Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 What have The Romans ever done for us? well, they gave us Italian women... that's got to count for something :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compl3x Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Hitler was once Man of the Year. ;) I think Stalin did, too. Person of the year isn't necessarily for being positive. This Pope seems more progressive than his predecessors, but then that isn't much of a competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torolol Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I think Stalin did, too. Stalin did heavily praised by Left-Wing media such as New York Times. The awesome "Man of Steel" way before superman comic use such moniker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Decryptor Veteran Posted December 12, 2013 Veteran Share Posted December 12, 2013 I'm guessing this was more about politics than anything, no idea how the pope is more deserving than Edward Snowden. Edit: Best thing the pope did was to get the church to say he was wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiranui Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Time's credibility falls even further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leesmithg Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 What have The Romans ever done for us? Built straight roads, so to stop the building of corner shops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonkwell Bogtrotter Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Damn. You both missed a brilliant opportunity. :laugh: Phouchg 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Stalin did heavily praised by Left-Wing media such as New York Times. The awesome "Man of Steel" way before superman comic use such moniker. No despot in that era was more loved by the left than Mussolini. Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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