[Editor's note: On Oct. 2, the Vatican released a statement saying the pope's meeting with Davis was not an endorsement of her views, but part of a series of private meetings with various guests. However, on Sept. 28, Pope Francis said that government officials have a "human right" to refuse to discharge dutiessuch as issuing marriage licenses to gay peopleif they feel it violates their conscience.]
LGBT faith leaders and rights-advocates, on Sept. 30, reacted to the news that Pope Francis met with Rowan County ( Kentucky ) Clerk Kim Davis, who has refused to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, during his U.S. visit.
The news about the visit was initially greeted with skepticism. The Pope had seemingly steered clear of hotbed topics during his trip to the United States, and had accrued much goodwill from the American public. The Vatican initially refused to verify whether the meeting took place, but confirmed on Sept. 30, that Davis and the pope met in Washington, D.C. for 15 minutes on Sept. 24. The meeting was kept secret so public attention during the pontiff's visit would not be focused on Davis, according to New York Times.
Officials from LGBT faith organizations were largely disturbed and surprised by news of the visit.
"As an LGBTQ faith leader who was at the White House last week to welcome the Pope, I am so disappointed and incredulous," said the Rev. Dr. Nancy Wilson, global moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches, in a statement. "We politely urged Pope Francis to say out loud that LGBTQ people in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the USA have a right to life. Instead, in a secret meeting with Kim Davis that is now public, he encouraged a woman who symbolizes contempt for the human and spiritual rights of LGBTQ people in this country."
" ...I speak for LGBTQ people around the world who are literally dying for the Pope to take the next step after his 'Who am I to judge?' statement and say, 'LGBTQ people are created in the image of God and deserve to live without fear of prison, persecution, or execution,'" Wilson added.
"The news that Pope Francis met with Kim Davis while failing to respond to repeated requests for dialogue with LGBT Catholics and their families will be deeply disappointing to many Catholics, gay, trans, and straight alike," said DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke in a statement. "It may be seen as putting the weight of the Vatican behind the US Catholic bishops' claims of victimization, and to support those who want to make it more difficult for same-sex couples to exercise their civil right to marriage. This encounter could, in many people's minds, transform the Pope's U.S. trip from a largely successful pastoral visit to the endorsement of an exclusionary political agenda.
"It would be helpful for the Vatican to be more forthcoming about the circumstances that led to this meeting, and what the Pope hoped to convey in his discussions with Ms. Davis," said Duddy-Burke.
"Though LGBT and ally Catholics have welcomed Pope Francis' affirming remarks, many, including myself, have also remarked that he sometimes talks out of both sides of his mouth," noted Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a group for LGBT Catholics in Mount Rainier, Maryland, in a statement. "Moreover, while he is LGBT-positive in general ways, his remarks on specific moral and political issues are often at odds with his welcoming stance. The time for vagueness, ambiguity, and secret meetings is over. Pope Francis needs to state clearly where he stands in regard to the inclusion of LGBT people in the church and society."