The Pope Thanks Kim Davis For Her ‘Courage’

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I’ve never quite understood why many of my fellow secularists fawn over Pope Francis. There seems to be an unexplainable consensus that this Pope is some sort of uber-liberal who’ll spearhead an era of progressiveness within the Catholic Church.

He is no such thing. His public rhetoric may be more palatable, but the edicts and dogma remain the same. This is simply a new era of savvy public relations, rather than anything of actual substance.

This is evidenced in the Pope’s reported sit-down time with Kim Davis recently.

 

In short, for those that missed it, Kim Davis is a Kentucky Clerk (and Christian zealot) who believes her religious beliefs entitle her to special privileges above the law. On purely religious grounds, not only did she refuse to carry out her legal requirement and issue marriage licences to eligible gay couples, but also endeavoured to prevent everyone else in her office from doing so too. Jail time followed for Davis, and since her release she has been celebrated by the Christian Right as a brave, persecuted soldier for Christ.

According to reports, this new(ish) ultra-hip Pope met with Kim Davis in private at The Vatican Embassy last week. Maybe the Pope seized the opportunity to instil some of these wonderful progressive values of his into Davis? Perhaps he simply wanted to round up a lost member of his flock to say she must have missed the memo that ‘gay is ok’ now? Perhaps not. The New York Times Reports:

On Tuesday night, her lawyer, Mathew D. Staver, said in a telephone interview that Ms. Davis and her husband, Joe, were sneaked into the Vatican Embassy by car on Thursday afternoon. Francis gave her rosaries and told her to “stay strong,” the lawyer said

Kim Davis had this to say about the Pope and their encounter:

“I put my hand out and he reached and he grabbed it, and I hugged him and he hugged me. And he said, ‘Thank you for your courage.’ ”

Here we have a Pope who will not only stand in solidarity with, but encourage a Christian to break the law, deny rights and discriminate against homosexuals in the name of their faith. How can anyone seriously consider this human a force for good, or anything within stone throwing distance of ‘progressive’?

Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.

4 comments

  • It galls me that Kim Davis continues to get so much press and so much traction with her ignorance, her hate and her law-breaking behavior. As for the pope, everything you say here is spot on. A close friend of mine, who is gay, summed it up well in a post on my Facebook page by saying “He may say nice things but his actions are hurtful to many”. Nothing has changed….

    On a separate note, I continue to enjoy your always-informational podcasts, as well as your Twitter and Facebook posts. Usually the highlight of my day. I loved the photo of the two cats on the bench at the top of your climb atop Messavouno….

  • This is flippant but in the spirit of this unconfirmed meeting: how long were they alone together? I mean with her marital history, there could a rather large taint on le pape, je blague vraiment.

    Bonne chance !

  • Yes, this is galling, but our consolation is that neither the meeting with Francis nor Kim Davis’ hateful actions will change the law one whit. Marriage equality is the law of (this) land and will remain so. We win. Next issue.

  • CriticalDragon1177

    Stephen Knight,

    Here’s an update for you.

    The Vatican Contradicts Liberty Counsel’s Claims About Kim Davis’ Meeting With Pope Francis http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/vatican-contradicts-liberty-counsels-claims-about-kim-davis-meeting-pope-francis

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