According to the reports out of the Vatican, a 15-minute meeting took place at the Vatican’s embassy in Washington D.C. “I can not not deny the meeting took place, but I have no comments to add”, Vatican Spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said.
Advertisement
A federal judge ordered Davis to issue the licenses, but she refused, and opted to spend five days in jail rather than license a gay marriage.
Mat Stavers, Davis’s lawyer, said that Davis and her husband had been invited to meet the Pope following the media storm surrounding her stance.
Davis told ABC News that Pope Francis thanked her for her courage, gave her a hug and gifted her two rosaries during their meeting.
Earlier, while speaking to reporters before leaving for the Vatican after his US-Cuba trip, the pontiff said government officials had a right to refuse to carry out their duties.
“It is a right”.
Liberty Counsel said in its release that Pope Francis spoke in English with no interpreter, they hugged, and they promised to pray for each other.
The Vatican had previously refused to confirm or deny the meeting, the Associated Press had reported.
Davis – who makes $80,000-a-year in the elected position – has returned to the Rowan County, Kentucky office, but is not personally handling the issuance of the licenses at this time.
“I had tears coming out of my eyes”. “But, yes, I can say the conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right”.
Davis is an Apostolic Christian. Davis was in town for the Values Voter Summit, where she was presented with an award by the Family Research Council. She also told the outlet that Pope Francis gave her a renewed sense of objective.
“I’ve been called things and names that I didn’t even say when I was in the world”.
While there, Davis, a longtime Democrat, said she was switching to the Republican party because she felt abandoned during her legal fight.
And all things considered, this was probably the most sensible professional move Davis has made in quite a while.
For instance, the Pope has famously said “Who am I to judge” gay priests and urged bishops not to engage in constant culture war fights over same-sex marriage.
Advertisement
“Otherwise we would end up in a situation where we select what is a right, saying “this right that has merit, this one does not.’ It [conscientious objection] is a human right”.
