Pope Francis Named “TIME” Person of the Year


On Monday I shared that TIME was mulling over its shortlist of 2013 notables to decide who it would name “Person of the Year,” and our girl, the DOMA-fighting diva Edie Windsor made the cut. Today, the magazine announced that Pope Francis ultimately took the prize, because, as TIME writes:

“He makes masterly use of 21st century tools to perform his 1st century office. He is photographed washing the feet of female convicts, posing for selfies with young visitors to the Vatican, embracing a man with a deformed face. He is quoted saying of women who consider abortion because of poverty or rape, ‘Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?’ Of gay people: ‘If a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge.’ To divorced and remarried Catholics who are, by rule, forbidden from taking Communion, he says that this crucial rite ‘is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.'”

Photo courtesy of Robert Maxwell for TIME.

Edie Windsor came in at a solid third. TIME‘s Eliza Gray writes:

“It is difficult to overstate the practical benefits to every gay American following Windsor’s victory in June. After the Supreme Court decision, gay couples could file joint tax returns, get access to veterans’ and Social Security benefits, hold on to their homes when their spouses died and get green cards for their foreign husbands and wives. For many couples—especially those with children and those without means—these benefits and protections are not merely symbolic.”

Windsor, of course, was touched by the honor, emailing out this statement today:

“I am honored that TIME chose me as one of the number 3 individuals in the top 5 nominees for ‘Person of the Year,’ but I am just one person who was part of the extraordinary and on-going fight for marriage equality for all our families. There are thousands of people who helped us come this far and we still have a lot more work to do. The gay community is my ‘person of the year’ and I look forward to continuing to fight for equal rights and educate the public about our lives alongside my gay brothers and sisters and our allies. Even without taking the ‘Person of the Year’ even being in the top 5 is an extraordinary way to end a year that has been historic for all of us and truly spectacular for me and gave me the chance to tell my story via Time through an interview and audio interview with photo slideshow. Thea would be thrilled, proud and so happy to see what we have all accomplished together.”

You can read TIME‘s writeup of Windsor and watch the sweet video of her life that’s attached, here.