VATICAN CITY
Reuters
BY ELIZABETH DILTS
Wed Dec 11, 2013
(Reuters) – Time magazine named Pope Francis its Person of the Year on Wednesday, 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 honor to Pope John Paul II in 1994 and to Pope John XXIII in 1963.
The Argentine pontiff – who, as archbishop of Buenos Aires was known as the slum cardinal for his visits to the poor and penchant for subway travel – beat former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and gay rights activist Edith Windsor for the award. …
With the Catholic Church marred in recent years by sex abuse scandals, Francis formed a team of experts Thursday to consider ways to improve the screening of priests, to protect minors to help victims.
Still, Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a victim advocacy group, said in a statement Wednesday that more action was needed.
“After nine months of essentially ignoring the church’s most severe crisis, (Pope Francis) hastily announced last week that he’ll appoint an abuse study panel,” Blaine said. “He has not, however, made a single child safer.”
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