Pope Francis and US President Barack Obama may be in agreement on some issues like climate change but they clearly do not see eye to eye on the issues of religious freedom and gay rights.
Addressing members of the LGBT community at the Gotham Hall in New York on Sunday, Obama said "freedom of religion does not mean that any American should be denied their constitutional rights." He suggested that people who remain uncomfortable with same-sex marriage should "take time to catch up with the majority of Americans who support such unions."
"We affirm that we cherish our religious freedom and are profoundly respectful of religious traditions," Obama said, according to CBS News. "But we also have to say clearly that our religious freedom doesn't grant us the freedom to deny our fellow Americans their constitutional rights."
"And that even as we are respectful and accommodating genuine concerns and interests of religious institutions, we need to reject politicians who are supporting new forms of discrimination as a way to scare up votes. That's not how we move America forward," Obama added.
However, Pope Francis said conscientious objection is a "human right," when asked about the Kim Davis case on his flight back to Rome from Philadelphia, according to the National Catholic Reporter.
The Roman Catholic Church leader, who just concluded a week-long visit to America, said "if rights are denied in certain circumstances, it would create a situation where some human rights are deemed more important than others."
The pontiff also said that Davis, as a human being, "should be allowed the right to follow her conscience.''
Early in September, Kentucky county clerk Davis became the centre of religious freedom controversy after she spent six days in jail for refusing to issue marriage licences to gay couples despite a Supreme Court ruling that made same-sex unions legal nationwide.
Davis said such marriages violate her Apostolic Christian faith. "God's moral law conflicts with my job duties. You can't be separated from something that's in your heart and your soul."
But majority of Americans believe that the Kentucky clerk should have issued licences to gay couples as required by law.
An ABC News/Washington Post survey conducted in September found that 74 percent of respondents believe that "equality under the law is more important than religious freedom when the two collide."
The poll also showed that 72 percent supported the decision to send Davis to jail for failing to comply with the order, CBS News said.
