The private meeting Pope Francis held with defiant Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is a strong papal endorsement of religious resistance to gay marriage, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he approves of how she’s waged her fight, experts said Wednesday.
The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, said their encounter in Washington last Thursday was private. Out of deference to the Vatican, Davis’ attorney, Mat Staver, would not say how it was arranged. The Vatican essentially confirmed it, without further comment.
Davis said she grasped the pope’s outstretched hand, and he told her to “stay strong.”
Davis refused to issue any marriage licenses in Rowan County, Ky., rather than comply with the Supreme Court ruling that effectively legalized gay marriage nationwide. She served five days in jail rather than resign.
“He thanked her for her courage and told her to stay strong,” said Cathleen Kaveny, a theologian and legal scholar at Boston College. That’s a commitment to her voice in the conversation. I don’t think it’s necessarily commitment to her policy views.”
