The past week, we have been inundated with the news that Pope Francis has met with Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk well known for trying to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples.
Davis’ attorney, Liberty Counsel chairman Mat Staver, has claimed that the Pope told the county clerk who defied a court order to issue same-sex marriage licenses, to ‘stay strong’.
The Vatican has issued a statement to clarify what the meeting meant and what really went on. Papal Spokesman Francisco Lombardi issue the following statement:
“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,”
The Vatican also said that the meeting wasn’t private and that the Pope met a line of people invited by the Nunciature to greet him as he left. They further clarified that the only real private audience the Pope held was for one of his former students and his family.
The Nunciature is the Embassy of the Vatican and is headed by Archbishop Carlo Vigano, who was appointed to the position by Pope Emeritus Benedict. In the case of Papal visits, the Archbishop is in charge of running the day-to-day activities of the Pope, something which the Carmelengo, the Papal equivalent of a Chief Of Staff, will handle in Rome.
Vigano is known to be an invited speaker at the anti-gay marriage rally March For Marriage, together with Davis’ attorney, Mat Staver. The Vatican has blamed him for the mishap on Friday, but Staver has come out in his defense and stated that “Somebody is trying to throw him (Vigano), under the bus”.