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[h=4]Vatican: Kim Davis' meeting with pope not a 'form of support'[/h]The Vatican on Friday attempted to clarify the circumstances surrounding Pope Francis' recent meeting with Kim Davis in the United States, saying it "should not be considered a form of support of her position."
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Defiant Kentucky clerk Kim Davis met briefly with Pope Francis during his historic U.S. visit, an encounter she said validates her crusade against gay marriage. (Sept. 30) AP
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying it was against her religious beliefs. She has sued Kentucky's governor, claiming he "usurped' county-level authority in granting marriage licenses.(Photo: Timothy D. Easley, AP)
The Vatican on Friday attempted to clarify the circumstances surrounding Pope Francis' recent meeting with Kim Davis in the United States, saying it "should not be considered a form of support of her position."
The Kentucky clerk spent time in jail for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses and has become a focal point in the gay<span style="color: Red;">*</span>marriage debate.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>She met with the pope Sept. 24.
However, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the pontiff met with several dozen people at the Vatican's embassy that day just before leaving Washington for New York and that those meetings were due to the pope's "kindness and availability."
In a statement, he added that the “only real audience granted by the pope” at the embassy that day “was with one of his former students and his family."
"The pope did not enter into the details of the situation of Mrs. Davis and his meeting with her should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects," Lombardi said.
Davis earlier this week said that the pope had encouraged her to "stay strong."<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The Vatican initially confirmed the meeting but offered no further comment.
Lombardi said the statement issued Friday was to "contribute to an objective understanding of what transpired."
Davis’ lawyer, Mat Staver, disputed that Friday,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>telling<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Associated Press that the Vatican initiated the meeting with her<span style="color: Red;">*</span>as an affirmation of her right to be conscientious objector.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“We wouldn’t expect the pope to weigh in on the particulars of any case,” Staver said Friday.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>He said Vatican personnel initiated the meeting on Sept. 14, the day she returned to work.
However, Thomas Rosica, who assists the Vatican press office with English-language media, said Friday that Vatican staff did not organize the meeting. According to the National Catholic Reporter, Rosica said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>it might have been an initiative by the Vatican’s ambassador to the U.S., Archbishop Carlo Vigano.
Rosica said that Vatican staff were not sure the pope “knew fully each of the people he was meeting” while greeting people at the nunciature. He also said Francis had personally approved Friday’s press statement after a meeting with Lombardi on the issue.
Contributing: Rosie Scammell, Religion News Service
USA TODAY
Vatican confirms pope met with Kim Davis
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