Kentucky clerk Kim Davis says she met Pope Francis

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refuses to issue same-sex marriage licenses based on her religious beliefs, privately met with Pope Francis during his recent trip to the United States, her attorney said.

Davis' attorney Tuesday said the pontiff, speaking in English with no interpreter, reportedly encouraged her to "stay strong," gave her and her husband Joe rosaries as gifts and asked her to "Please pray for me." He said to her, "Thank you for your courage."

They reportedly met Thursday at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, D.C., the same day of the pope's historic speech to a joint session of Congress and just moments before he left for New York City, said a news release from the Liberty Council, which has represented Davis in her legal battles.

The meeting between the pope and Davis was first reported by Inside the Vatican,a publication by Robert Moynihan, a journalist who has covered the Vatican for many years. Davis recounted the meeting to the publication:

"I was humbled to meet Pope Francis. Of all people, why me?" Davis said. "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. 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.' "

Davis, a longtime elected clerk of Rowan County, Ky., has refused to issue marriage license to anyone, gay or straight, since the historic Supreme Court decision this summer legalizing gay marriage. She was twice ordered by the court to issue marriage licenses to all couples and jailed for six days when she refused to follow U.S. District Judge David Bunning's order to issue the documents. She was released Sept. 8 and warned not to interfere with deputy clerks issuing the licenses in her place. On Sept. 22, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit claiming she was altering wording on the licenses to remove any mention of her name or office.

Moynihan said Davis and her husband were in Washington, D.C. to receive an award from the Family Research Council when they were summoned to meet with the pope.

"The pope spoke in English," Davis told Moynihan. "There was no interpreter. 'Thank you for your courage,' Pope Francis said to me. I said, 'Thank you, Holy Father.' I had asked a monsignor earlier what was the proper way to greet the pope, and whether it would be appropriate for me to embrace him, and I had been told it would be OK to hug him. So I hugged him, and he hugged me back. It was an extraordinary moment. 'Stay strong,' he said to me. Then he gave me a rosary as a gift, and he gave one also to my husband, Joe. I broke into tears. I was deeply moved."

Davis' attorney Mathew D. Staver told The New York Times, the couple met for 15 minutes with the pope, who was accompanied by security, aides and photographers. Staver said he expects to get photographs of the meeting from the Vatican soon.

Staver said the Davises and the Vatican agreed to keep the meeting a secret because, "we didn't want the pope's visit to be focused on Kim Davis."

During his U.S. visit, the pope spoke broadly about the importance of religious freedom. On the plane trip back to Rome, a reporter asked him about government officials who refused to perform their duties because of religious objections. He said he could not speak specifically about the Davis case, but "conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right."

"It is a right," he said. "And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right."