Kim Davis Meets The Pope And Tells The World

Kim Davis met with Pope Francis? That’s what the controversial clerk claimed Wednesday, according to Time Magazine, igniting a firestorm of new media attention. Davis, who rose to notoriety by being jailed for contempt of court after refusing a judge’s order to issue same-sex marriage licenses in her county, said that she had a private meeting with the Pope during his recent U.S. visit.

While many were initially skeptical of Kim Davis and her claimed meeting with the Pope, it appears that The Vatican is now confirming that the meeting took place. In its own cryptic way, at least. When U.S. media outlets initially contacted Vatican officials to confirm the claims of Kim Davis, Vatican officials refused to either confirm or deny the rumors that the Pope had met with Davis. Later, when they were contacted again about the story, their spokesman had a slightly different response.

“I don’t deny that the meeting took place but I have no comments to add.”

When it comes to an official confirmation from the Holy City about the Pope’s alleged meeting with Kim Davis, that’s probably as close to a resounding confirmation of the Pontiff’s activities as the American press and public can hope to get.

Mat Staver, a member of the Liberty Counsel and the lawyer for Kim Davis, went into more detail about the clerk’s meeting with Pope Francis during a Time interview. According to Staver, the meeting between the Pontiff and Davis took place on September 24 at the Vatican Embassy in Washington D.C. and lasted under 15 minutes. Staver went on to say that the planning for the meeting between Davis and the Pope began 10 days earlier on September 14. Kim Davis was already planning to be in D.C. that weekend for an appearance at the Values Voters Summit.

Staver claims that the meeting, in which Kim Davis was greeted and prayed for by the Pope, as well as (she claims) given rosaries, was arranged by unnamed Vatican officials, not by U.S. bishops or Davis herself. He declined to elaborate further, and his assertion that the meeting was initiated by someone inside of the Vatican has raised eyebrows. This is because these private meetings are almost never initiated by the Vatican, but instead, usually requested by the person being met. The Vatican will sometimes respond to invitations and make arrangements for the meetings to take place at their discretion.

It’s also important to note that during these meetings, it’s standard operating procedure for the Pope to pray with and give rosaries to everyone he meets, which means that his interaction with Kim Davis was far from unique.

The Pope was first connected to Davis during his flight back to Rome following his U.S. visit. There, he was directly asked how he felt about government officials using their religious beliefs as an excuse not to fulfill their sworn duties. His answer was a controversial one, and while Kim Davis wasn’t directly mentioned in the exchange, the implications were distinctive.

“Conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right. It is a right. And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right.”

The reports that he’d met with Kim Davis unbeknownst to the U.S. public prior to making that statement has given his words new depth and meaning today.

Many have been wondering why Kim Davis and her legal team waited so long to share the news of her meeting with the Pope. Staver says that the delay came because Davis didn’t want to detract attention away from the Pope’s official visit due to her notoriety, and the controversy still surrounding her legal issues. It’s important to keep in mind that Kim Davis is still embattled in a legal drama, having been accused of continuing to interfere in the same-sex marriage process in Kentucky following her release from jail.

“Kim Davis has never wanted the focus to be her, she is not that kind of a person.”

During the Pope’s visit to the U.S., he made many public statements about his support of religious liberty. He commented about the situation facing Christians in the Middle East and Africa, but the Pope didn’t mention Kim Davis, her case, or her continuing legal troubles.

Since Kim Davis and her legal team came forward with their news about her private meeting with Pope Francis, she’s been all over the news again. Despite her lawyer’s claims that she prefers to keep the focus off of herself, the focus is certainly back on Kim Davis now that she’s publicly claimed a meeting with the Pope.

[Photo Courtesy: Ty Wright/Getty Images]