The Vatican released a formal statement Friday distancing Pope Francis from Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, saying the meeting between the two "should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects."
Davis, the Rowan County clerk who spent nearly a week in jail for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, met briefly with the pope on Sept. 24 in the Vatican's embassy in Washington, D.C.
The meeting set off a flurry of speculation about what message the pontiff may have been trying to send, but the Vatican downplayed the significance of the encounter, with Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi saying the pope "met with several dozen persons" on that day.
"Such brief greetings occur on all papal visits and are due to the Pope's characteristic kindness and availability. The only real audience granted by the Pope at the Nunciature was with one of his former students and his family," the statement said. "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."
After Davis met with the pope, she portrayed the meeting as an endorsement of her cause, telling ABC News, "Just knowing the pope is on track with what we're doing, and agreeing, you know, kind of validates everything."
She added in a statement: "Pope Francis was kind, genuinely caring, and very personable. He even asked me to pray for him. Pope Francis thanked me for my courage and told me to 'stay strong,'" reported NBC News.
Initially, the Vatican barely acknowledged the meeting, reluctantly confirming it took place and offering no comment.
Lombardi said Friday that he intended for his official statement to "contribute to an objective understanding of what transpired," as the meeting has "continued to provoke comments and discussion."
Davis' lawyer, Mat Staver, disputed the Vatican's statement on Friday, telling the Associated Press that the Vatican initiated the meeting as a way to affirm Davis' right to be a conscientious objector.
"We wouldn't expect the pope to weigh in on the particulars of any case, " Staver said. "Rather, the meeting was a pastoral meeting to encourage Kim Davis in which Pope Francis thanked her for her courage and told her to 'Stay strong.' His words and actions support the universal human right to conscientious objection."
