Pope Francis privately met Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis in Washington D.C. last week and gave her words of encouragement in defending her Christian faith, a Christian law firm representing Davis revealed.
In a press statement, the Liberty Counsel said Davis—who spent six days in jail for her refusal to grant marriage licence to same-sex couples—and her husband met the Pope at the Vatican Embassy.
Liberty Counsel said during their meeting, the Pope told Davis, "Thank you for your courage," adding, "stay strong."
"I will. Please pray for me," Davis replied. The pope reportedly gave her rosaries.
"I was humbled to meet Pope Francis. Of all people, why me?" Davis said later. "I never thought I would meet the Pope. Who am I to have this rare opportunity? I am just a county clerk who loves Jesus and desires with all my heart to serve Him."
She added, "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.'"
On the plane bound for Rome, Pope Francis reportedly told ABC News that conscientious objection is a human right, even for government officials:
"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. Conscientious objection must enter into every juridical structure because it is a right, a human right," the Pope said, without mentioning his meeting with Davis.
"Otherwise we would end up in a situation where we select what is a right, saying 'this right that has merit, this one does not.' It [conscientious objection] is a human right. It always moved me when I read, and I read it many times, when I read the 'Chanson de Roland' when the people were all in line and before them was the baptismal font and they had to choose between the baptismal font or the sword. They had to choose. They weren't permitted conscientious objection. It is a right and if we want to make peace we have to respect all rights," he added.
"It is a human right and if a government official is a human person, he has that right," Pope Francis stressed.
At the Vatican, the Pope's spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said he would neither confirm nor deny the report and that there would be no further statement, a Reuters report said. The news agency said this was unusual for the Vatican, which normally issues either denials or confirmations.
