Justice

Watch Kim Davis Explain Her Secret Meeting with Pope Francis

September 30th 2015

Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who has refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Rowan County, had a private meeting with Pope Francis during the religious leader's historic visit to the U.S. last week. A spokesperson from the Vatican confirmed the meeting on Wednesday, however no details were shared.

Davis was apparently moved by their conversation, and she appeared on "Good Morning America" to discuss the visit.

In the "Good Morning America" interview, Davis disclosed details about the experience, explaining that she and her husband were invited to Washington D.C. by a church official who arranged the closed-door meeting on September 24.

"I was crying. I had tears coming out of my eyes," Davis said. "I'm just a nobody, so it was really humbling to think he would want to meet or know me."

"I put my hand out and he reached and he grabbed it, and I hugged him and he hugged me. And he said, 'thank you for your courage.'"

In response to early reports about the meeting, Father Benedettini from the Vatican Press office released a statement saying that the the Vatican neither confirmed nor denied that the meeting took place and that no further information would be provided. However on Wednesday, Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, stated, "I do not deny that the meeting took place, but I have no other comments to add," according to the New York Times.

On Sunday, ABC News asked the pope if he supports people, "including government officials," who disobey the law on religious grounds.

"I can't have in mind all the 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. It is a right," Francis responded. "And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right."

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