SKEPTICISM ABOUT THE POPE’S VISIT WITH KIM DAVIS ARE IN ORDER

…Pope Francis in the United States

 

Americans should not rush to judgment regarding the Pope’s meeting with Kim Davis.

 

First, I must say that I am not a Catholic.  I do live with what is sometimes referred to as a “recovering Catholic” that went to a Catholic school most of her life, but I was raised as a Methodist.

 

However, for some reason, even though I have been writing for years about politics and religion, I too have been impressed with this new Pope. 

 

Pope Francis came across to me as what I would have expected a true servant or representative of God to act like, especially when I compare him to other Popes, such as Pope Benedict.

 

My point is that based on the decisions that have been coming out of the Vatican since this Pope came to power, I can see how this Pope could have been “duped” about the visit of the anti-gay marriage Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis.

 

Even the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, has stated that Pope Francis met with "several dozen" people at the Vatican's embassy in Washington just before leaving for New York.  He also stated that “The Pope had no prior knowledge of her [Ms. Davis’] situation when he met with her. The pope did not enter into the details of the situation of Mrs. Davis and his meeting with her should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects."

 

 If the Pope would have had prior knowledge, this Pope is not shy.  He would have made his own statement about resistance should be shown to gay marriage and that government officials, such as Ms. Davis, should respond with courage. But neither she nor we heard anything like that from this Pontiff.  

Lombardi had also said that such meetings are par for the course of any Vatican trip and are especially because of this pope's outward "kindness and availability." He said the pope only had one real "audience" in Washington and that was with former students and his family members.

 

But as expected, it’s Ms. Davis’ lawyer that is now hinting that the Papal meeting with the embattled Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis was set up by US Vatican officials for ulterior motives.

 

The word on the street is that there is a wide chasm inside the US Catholic Church. You have officials in power with similar views as the former St Paul Archbishop, John Neinstedt.  This archbishop’s singular focus was to get all gays out of the US Catholic Church.

 

This is the same Archbishop that resigned this summer after allegations surfaced he had covered up sex abuse within his diocese.

 

So, when you bring in Pope Francis on his US visit, a Pope who emphasizes help for the poor over the church crusading against gays, you will ruffle some high-level feathers among US Catholic Officials.

 

It wouldn’t surprise me if a church official had taken it upon himself to throw a little cold water on this Pope's super-successful US visit by inviting Ms. Davis.

 

The Pope met with a number of Americans briefly and he could have said a lot of different things.  I personally belief that Davis and her lawyer cherry-picked the Pope’s quote to suit her own anti-gay marriage purposes.

 

But, as expected, there are many Americans who believe the Kim Davis version of reality.   It’s just as if Donald Trump had said that “Obama worships Allah”, and the audience believed him.

 

In reality, more skepticism of any accusation against the Pope is definitely in order.

 

The fact is that no, the Pope himself and even his direct entourage from overseas did not control every person that got to meet with him.  In fact, even when in the Vatican, if someone gets a ticket to the papal audience, and if they are in the right spot, this Pope might shake their hands and say a few words and who would know what that person’s motive was all about?

 

 

Pope Francis deserves the benefit of the doubt on this one.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2015