Vatican: Pope’s Meeting With Davis Does Not Indicate Support

Lombardi said such meetings are due to the pope’s “kindness and availability” and that the pope only really had one “audience” with former students and his family members. Now, CNN reports that the pope did indeed hold one private audience in Washington D.

Given that liberals were angry and conservatives happy over the political implications of the Pope’s visit with Davis, which seemed to suggest he endorsed her position on same-sex marriage despite his comments to the contrary, the meeting with Grassi adds a new perspective to his time in the U.S.

Davis, a Rowan County, Kentucky clerk, spent five days in jail for defying a series of federal court orders to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

A judge ultimately freed Davis on the condition that she does not interfere with her deputies issuing the licences. The Vatican sent a vehicle for Davis and her husband on the following day to take them to the embassy.

He said the pope knows about his sexual orientation but has never condemned him or his same-sex relationship.

“We wouldn’t expect the pope to weigh in on the particulars of any case”, said Staver.

The Vatican confirmed Wednesday that Pope Francis met with Kim Davis last week. The pontiff responded that conscientious objection is a right that belongs to everyone. “Pope Francis thanked me for my courage and told me to ‘stay strong, ‘” Davis added.

Davis’ lawyers have responded to the Vatican’s stance-basically backing away slowly-by insisting that the Pope did express support for the clerk. The Vatican does not confirm the meeting, nor does it deny the meeting. However, he did note that the meeting had been personally set up by Francis in the weeks prior to his first visit to the U.S.

On Friday, HRC issued a cautiously positive statement about Grassi’s reported meeting.

The claim is surprising, as the Pontiff also appeared to back Davis while speaking to reporters on his flight home, when asked about her case and other Christian “martyrs”. What Davis had was basically an encounter with the Pope as he made his way past the crowd in Washington.

Vigano was named to the diplomatic position of Apostolic Nunciature to the United States by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011. Vigano was eventually transferred to Washington to become ambassador.

The video shows Francis and his former student warmly embracing and chatting in Spanish in an ornate room in the embassy. “It’s the way he thinks and how he is”, said Mr Grassi. Basically, Davis was ushered in for her 60 seconds with the pope, who blessed her, gave her a rosary, and then moved along to the next person in line. “It could be exaggerated”.