UPDATE: According to NY Times reporter Laurie Goodstein, the Vatican has now confirmed that the meeting between Davis and the Pope took place. While I still think Davis is wrong in her stance, this has to be considered a major PR win for her and her team.
On the other hand, this may compromise positive feelings surrounding the Pope’s visit here. I don’t understand the secrecy. Her lawyer Mat Staver said she disguised her hair style on the way to the meeting. Why did the Vatican neither confirm nor deny the meeting initially? Why not let people know while he was here that he supported Davis? I suspect one answer might be that he would face questions about it during the rest of the trip. Makes him look less than Papal to me.
Back to Davis, I puzzled by what violates and doesn’t violate her conscience. She refuses to affix her name to a same-sex marriage license in her official capacity as clerk but she will in her personal life accept a blessing and rosaries from the Pope which would appear to violate her religion as well. The founder of Apostolic manifestations of Christianity such as hers S.H. Froehlich has very little good to say about the Pope.
Her position has been that she doesn’t want anyone to think she supports gay marriage. However, she seems less concerned that people will think she supports Catholicism.
I suspect some of her supporters will not care how consistent her actual beliefs are, but rather that she sincerely holds them. Other supporters might draw the line if she starts to balk at issuing marriage licenses to divorced Christians.
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In an odd turn of events, the Vatican press office won’t confirm or deny that the Pope met with Kim Davis during his U.S. trip. According to a tweet from the NY Times Laurie Goodstein, verification is in limbo.
Vatican says only will neither confirm nor deny our story: Kim Davis, Ky. Clerk, Is Said to Have Met Pope http://t.co/9lndRUW6fy
— Laurie Goodstein (@lauriegnyt) September 30, 2015
According to ABC News, the Vatican Press Office released this statement:
The Holy See is aware of the reports of Kim Davis meeting with the Holy Father. The Vatican does not confirm the meeting, nor does it deny the meeting. There will be no further information given.
Given the exaggerations which regularly come out of the Liberty Counsel camp (e.g., Peru, Mat Staver thinks David Barton is a credible historian), confirmation is necessary. In essence, the Vatican is tossing her under the bus at this moment.
Davis claims to have photos. If those surface, then the Vatican may need to say something or could just let them speak for themselves.
To me, if he did meet with Davis, he has undone a lot of the bridge building image he has cultivated. Davis is a divisive figure right now and by aligning with her, he will appear to lack consistency and genuineness.
