Pope Francis Is Time's "Person Of The Year"; Edges Out The Twerking Mile Cyrus, Wikileaks Founder and Syrian President

What do a pope, gay rights activist, a "rat" and a twerking, tongue-wagging celebrity have in common? They were all in the shortlist of Time's "Person of the Year." What's the difference? Well, the pope won. You can chalk this one up for the good guys.

Pope Francis was given the accolade by Time magazine on Wednesday, citing his many efforts to heal the Church and bring it back to relevance. He was the first pope to really embrace technology, even opening his own Twitter account.

Among the individuals edged by the pope for the "Person of the Year" are gay rights activist Edith Windsor, Wikileaks founder Edward Snowden (considered to be a rat by the NSA for leaking all those secrets), Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and celebrity Miley Cyrus.

Time's international editor, Bobby Ghosh, said in a CNN report that Pope's Francis in so short a time managed to change the image of the church somewhat.

"He's changed perceptions of the church from being this out-of-touch institution to one that is humble and merciful. He's changed the focus of the church from being focused on doctrine to becoming more about service. And he's changed the tone in which the church speaks to one of compassion. It's all about the poor," he said.

Ghosh's sentiment is echoed by Time contributor Howard Chua-Eoan who particularly cited the pope's timing, "when the church seemed to be needing a huge burst of new energy."

Pope Francis joins Pope John Paul II and the reformist Pope John XXII, were also named Time's "Person of the Year" in 1994 and 1963, respectively. Both pontiffs, of course, are also on hand for sainthood.

Unknown to many, the distinction is not only limited to individuals who contributed something good for humanity. The Person of the Year honors men and women who influenced news agenda, whether bad or good. Previous controversial winners include Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Ayatollah Khomeini.