Kim Davis’ Lawyer Says She Had a Private Meeting With the Pope

A federal judge ordered Davis to jail earlier this month over her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the Kentucky county where she’s clerk.

Pope Francis “thanked her for her courage” and told her to “stay strong”, Stavers said.

“It is a right“.

“I do not deny that the meeting took place, but I have no other comments to add”, he said.

“No one meets with the pope unless the pope approves of the meeting and is aware of the person with whom he is meeting and background checks are appropriately done”, Staver said.

Davis privately met with Pope Francis in Washington, D.C., last Thursday, as first reported by ABC News today.

In a statement released by Liberty Counsel, Davis says she was “humbled” and never thought she would be granted an audience with the popular and unpredictable pontiff.

“What people say about me does not define who I am”. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, August 31, 2015, ruled against Davis, who has refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Davis cited her religious beliefs, and was sent to prison for six days.

Davis and her husband each received a set of rosary beads from Pope Francis, which he personally blessed, and they prayed together, according to her attorneys at Liberty Counsel, who released a photo of the beads to ABC.

Kim Davis reportedly had a private meeting with Pope Francis during his recent trip to the United States. Matt Staver, the lawyer for Davis, said that the Vatican reached out to Kim Davis through his office; he was there when a auto picked them up and took them to the Vatican Embassy in Washington.

Francis said he didn’t know the case in detail, but he upheld conscientious objection as a human right. Kim’s mother and father are Catholic, and Kim and Joe will present the Rosaries to her parents.

“I will. Please pray for me”, Davis replied. Just knowing that the pope is on track with what we’re doing…

Update, 9:50 a.m.: The Vatican has confirmed that the meeting took place. Davis said, calling Francis “kind, genuinely caring, and very personable” in a statement.