On the Liberty Counsel website, a statement reads: "the Pope met privately with Kim Davis and her husband, Joe, at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, September 24, which was the birthday of Kim’s father. Pope Francis spoke with Kim and Joe Davis in English."

During his return to the Vatican, the pope was asked a question about Kim Davis, who spent five days in prison for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. While the pope did not comment directly about Davis' case, he did say he endorses a general right to conscientious objection — the right to be excused from certain laws that conflict with religious beliefs.

"I can't have in mind all cases that can exist about conscientious objection but, yes, I can say that conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right," the pope said, according to Reuters, speaking in Italian.

News outlets are awaiting confirmation from the Vatican. Davis and her attorney Staver say that the Vatican is in possession of photos of the encounter.

Staver has been accused of lying about the contents of a photo last week that he said was a large prayer gathering in Peru in Davis' honor. ThinkProgress produced evidence that the photo was not of a Davis prayer rally. When confronted about the discrepancy, Staver said that it was a mistake.