Posted on 10/02/2015 11:58:26 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Pope Francis' meeting last week with an American woman at the center of a row over gay marriage was not something he had sought and should not be seen as an endorsement of her views, the Vatican said on Friday.
One Vatican official said there was "a sense of regret" that the pope had ever seen Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk who went to jail in September for refusing to honor a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and issue same-sex marriage licenses.
The encounter in Washington was originally kept secret and has sparked widespread debate since it became public this week, proving something of a misstep for the pontiff.
Looking to smother the fierce controversy, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said Davis was one of "several dozen" people who had been invited by the Vatican ambassador to see Francis during his visit to the U.S. capital.
"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," Lombardi said in a statement.
"The only real audience granted by the Pope at the Nunciature (Vatican embassy) was with one of his former students and his family," the statement said.
The meeting with Davis disappointed many liberal Catholics but delighted conservatives, who saw it as a sign that the pope was clearly condemning a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage.
Davis said on Wednesday that the pope had thanked her for her courage and told her to "stay strong", adding that knowing that he agreed with what she was doing "kind of validates everything".
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
As a Catholic, I must state I am appalled and disgusted with the Vatican.
I don’t think the Vatican ambassador invites her on his own. It sounds like third parties are trying to minimize this.
The Vatican behaves like it’s a separate entity from the Pope, whom they must apologize for and don’t really know what he’s doing or where he even is.
how ironic:
Pope Seemingly Endorses Kim Davis–Style “Conscientious Objection”
Speaking aboard his flight from Philadelphia to Rome, Pope Francis seemed to suggest that officials like Kim Davis should be allowed to refuse to perform government tasks that they believe to be immoral, outlets including NBC report:
The pontiff was asked: “Do you … support those individuals, including government officials, who say they cannot in good conscience, their own personal conscience, abide by some laws or discharge their duties as government officials, for example when issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples?”
He did not refer specifically to Davis in his reply, saying: “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. And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right.”
While the pope’s statement is obviously fairly abstract, it does seem to imply in its use of the word “allow” that actions such as Davis’ should not be subject to punishment. (Davis, a Kentucky county clerk, was sent to jail—and may be going back—for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.)
the guy (pope) is a class A coward...
Who set up the meeting then? Who vetted people he would see? This is just ridiculous, and why would the Pope “regret” meeting with ANYONE? Is he anti-Christian, too?
Who do you suppose is pressuring him to come out now with regrets?
There is more to this, and it is evil at work.
I'm ready for this guy to go rather than just being used as a blunt instrument to beat me over the head with.
Talk about manipulation. And from Reuters/Pullella, I'm not surprised.
Any “sense of regret” from the Vatican with his meeting with a couple of homosexuals that is being joyfully reported by CNN this morning?
Does he regret visiting the murderers and rapists in the Philadelphia prison?
And to add to the mixed message, we have this:
CNN Exclusive: Pope held private meeting with same-sex couple in U.S.
Again I repeat... go to the original Vatican sources. I just read them and they did seek to diminish the meeting as being one of many and in a group and that the Pope had not been fully briefed on her entire situation. But it didn’t anywhere mention regret. And he met with a childhood friend who self identifies as gay. I have friends like that. I give them love but not agreement with their choices. So everyone needs to calm down.
I wonder if the Vatican will express any sense of regret with the Pope meeting this same-sex couple...
Rooters?
... Next!
As a Lutheran, I could tell you I told you so. ;-D
They are practically telegraphing that the Church is going to endorse same-sex marriage, and soon.
RE: Again I repeat... go to the original Vatican sources.
And to add to the mixed message, we have this:
CNN Exclusive: Pope held private meeting with same-sex couple in U.S.
What do the original Vatican sources say?
I’d really like to know what Pope Francis said to them.
Theses #96....better late than never.
Again, I’m not reading CNN. The MSM has an agenda and it’s a pro same sex whatever agenda.
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