Attempting to stamp out a controversy that threatened to overshadow the many historic moments of the pope’s first visit to the United States, the Vatican issued a statement on Oct. 2 to clarify the circumstances of the pope’s meeting with embattled Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis. According to the statement, the meeting with Davis “should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects.” Davis had been jailed for contempt of court for refusing to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples. The Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, S.J., confirmed that “the brief meeting” between Pope Francis and Davis took place at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C., “as he prepared to depart for New York.” At that same time, he said, Pope Francis also “met with several dozen persons who had been invited by the nunciature to greet him as he prepared to leave Washington for New York City.” He explained that “such brief greetings occur on all papal visits and are due to the pope’s characteristic kindness and availability.”
Kim Davis Fallout
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
The funeral Mass of Pope Francis will be celebrated April 26 in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican announced.
President Donald Trump ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half mast in honor of Pope Francis. Mr. Trump, one of many U.S. political leaders remembering the late pope, called Francis “a good man.”
In his brief final testament, Pope Francis asked to be buried at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major and said he had offered his suffering for peace in the world.
Pope Francis died April 21 after suffering a stroke and heart attack, said the director of Vatican City State’s department of health services. The pope had also gone into a coma.