Pope Francis secretly met with Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis and her husband, according to Christian lobby group, Liberty Counsel. The meeting was made during the Washington leg visit of the Pope to the United States.
Liberty Counsel is a group founded and chaired by Davis' lawyer, Mat Staver. Davis is the controversial clerk who was jailed after refusing to issue a marriage license to a gay couple because of her religious beliefs.
The alleged secret meeting between the two parties sparked anger in some gay activists and liberal American Catholics. Furthermore, it paved the way for more controversy on the side of the Vatican and the Catholic Church regarding their stance on same sex marriage.
According to ABC reports, Davis said that the Pope's visit was a great encouragement for her and a 'validation of everything'. Davis refused to obey a judge's order regarding the Supreme Court ruling to issue marriage licenses to gay couples because of her Apostolic Christian beliefs. She was jailed for 5 days.
Amidst rumours that the meeting was alleged to be kept a secret because Davis sported a different hairdo and arrived in a sports utility vehicle to keep a low profile, the Vatican, through spokesman Federico Lombardi, debunked these allegations. He said that they are not denying that the meeting took place. Inside the Vatican, an online news portal was also the first to report on the said meeting.
New Ways Ministry Executive Director Francis DeBernardo said in a statement that the Pope has to make a clear stance regarding the inclusion of the LGBT community in the church and society. Furthermore, the leader of the gay and lesbian Catholic group said that the meeting diminished the good will the pontiff gained during his trip.
However, a number of judges and clerks in Texas, Alabama and other states, have also expressed their opposition against gay marriage. Judge Nick Williams said the meeting between Pope Francis and Davis inspired him. Williams himself has refused to issue gay marriage licenses in Washington County for months now.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
