List of the Top 10 People of the Church in 2012

Each year, Inside the Vatican magazine chooses 10 people who are believed to be examples of great courage, fidelity to the Church and heroic Christian charity. The choice for "Person of the Year 2012" was Pope Benedict XVI. He passed through the crucible of the "Vatileaks" scandal and continued to preach the Gospel, in season and out of season. 

But no Pope has ever been listed on the “Top Ten” because, in a sense, it has been taken for granted that the Pope is inevitably at the center of the struggle for the faith in the world today.

Below is the list of the top ten people of the Church:

1- Msgr. Charles Scicluna. The Vatican’s chief prosecutor of clerical sexual abuse. On October 6, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Malta and Titular Bishop of San Leone.

2- Barbara Castro Garcia. A spanish mother who died after postponing her cancer treatments to save her baby.

3- Cardinal André Vingt-Trois. Archbishop of Paris and President of the French Bishops’ Conference builds coalition in opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage.

4- Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan. Archbishop of New York and President of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference leads a defense of unborn life and Christian marriage and values in society.

5- Asia Bibi. Pakistani Christian woman arrested and sentenced to death for blaspheming against Islam in 2009. Her case received worldwide attention. The Pope called for clemency for Asia.

6- Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan. Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, he has spoken out against military dictatorship and violence, and urged dialogue with Muslims.

7- Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai. Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, he is one of the key leaders of the Christian communities in the Middle East.

8- Archbishop Georg Gänswein. The Pope’s private secretary, named Prefect of the Papal Household and Archbishop of Urbs Salvia.

9- Cardinal Antonio Cañizares. Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has supported the faithful application of Summorum Pontificum.

10- Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin. This Auxiliary Bishop of Shanghai, China, has been under house arrest since July 7, 2012, following his courageous actions at his episcopal ordination.