“Kim and Joe Davis were placed in a room with no one else present,” Liberty Counsel declares. “Later Pope Francis arrived with only Vatican or Embassy personnel and security.”
“He stretched out his hands,” the statement said. “Kim clasped his hands, and he asked her to pray for him. She said she would, and she asked the Pontiff to pray for her, to which he said he would.”
“Pope Francis then thanked Kim for her ‘courage’.” the statement added. “They embraced. The Pope said, ‘Stay strong.’ He then presented Kim and Joe with two rosaries. There was no line of people or other members of the public seen anywhere.”
It sounds like the Vatican’s U.S. ambassador set up the meeting. How much the Pope or others knew about Davis beforehand is unclear. The way they are backtracking on the whole thing, you have to assume they either didn’t know about her whole story beforehand or that they hoped the meeting would be kept secret, and were just doing it as a favor to the ambassador. It sounds like the ambassador has been clear about his stance on marriage for a long time and has supported Davis, much clearer than the Pope has been.