Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who was jailed for a brief period for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, met the pope along with her husband. The secret meeting took place in Washington, D.C., during the pope's recently concluded visit to the U.S.
Mathew Staver, Davis's lawyer, said during a telephone interview on Sept. 29 that Davis and her husband, Joe, were taken in secret to the Vatican Embassy by car on Sept. 24. The pope gave Davis rosaries and told her to "stay strong," the lawyer said, according to The Globe and Mail. The meeting spanned approximately 15 minutes.
"I do not deny that the meeting took place, but I have no other comments to add," said Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi, confirming the meeting but declining to elaborate, reports The New York Times.
Davis was in Washington to attend the Values Voter Summit in which she was given an award for her defiance of a federal judge by the Family Research Council, which opposes same-sex marriage.
"It was really very humbling to even think that he would want to, you know, meet me or know me. I put my hand out, and he grabbed it, and I hugged him, and he hugged me and he said, 'Thank you for your courage.' He told me before he left, he said, 'Stay strong.' That was a great encouragement," Davis told ABC, according to Reuters.
The pope had said during one of his last interviews that though he was not aware of the details of the Davis case, he was of the opinion that conscientious objection was a human right.
"It is a right. And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right," Pope Francis said, reports The Wall Street Journal.
