I don't know if the Pope actually met with Kim Davis, nor do I care if the Pope met with Kim Davis.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

And I say this both as a practicing Catholic and a liberal and a Democrat, and one who has a fair amount of respect for the current Pontiff.

The Pope met with just about everyone in the gamut of society during his visit: Presidents, dictators, homeless, prisoners, abuse victims, sick people, ordinary people. So if he actually did humor Kim Davis at her lawyers' request and gave her a cursory how do you do, okay then.....? I'm pretty sure he told those prisoners in Pennsylvania to "stay strong" as well, and I'm sure at least some of them did some not so nice stuff to get there.

As I said on numerous occasions, the Pope is who the Pope is. He's an international figure not constrained by American politics, whether you agree with him or not on any one particular issue.

Of course, we're also dealing with Kim Davis of the 20 million man Free Kim Davis march, so who the hell knows what she's talking about?

Any way around it, this is a non-issue. BFD.

[pnwmom]

1. The Vatican says their only statement will be that they will neither confirm nor deny.

I think that someone slipped her into a brief meeting and they are refusing now to be used by her.

Good for them.

[Bluenorthwest]

2. This apathy is established. The fact is there are strong ties between the Vatican and the US

religious right. Those of us who have reason to remain aware of those who organize against us know this. DU folks who very obviously side with Francis need to know this because it is part of how they are perceived by those who do follow real events:
Vatican Strengthens Ties with Evangelicals and Mormons Against Gay Marriage
"In a month when papal conversation about marriage has been all the rage, the Vatican is enlisting a new set of allies to support its commitment to marriage between a man and a woman: American evangelicals and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The presence of American evangelicals and the LDS Church was particularly notable. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, and Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, each gave speeches, and representatives from the Heritage Foundation and the Family Research Council in Washington attended. President Henry Eyring of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ first presidency spoke and Elder Tom Perry of the LDS’s Quorum of the Twelve also joined. In the United States, this trio of faiths has worked together to stand against the government’s Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate, but it was the first time they were coming together at the Vatican to talk about marriage."
http://time.com/3597245/vatican-evangelicals-mormons-gay-marriage/

Much more at the link. If the game is 'Six Degrees of Tony Perkins' Francis wins three ways.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

3. You could draw just as many ties between the Pope and any handful of liberal figures.

Gay marriage as a hot button issue is past its critical mass stage. It's a dwarf star at this point, still there but nowhere near where it was at its peak, and clearly within a slow, withering decline. The Supreme Court spoke, and while people who opposed it on religious grounds are not going to admit defeat, it's going to wither away in prominence as a motivating tool. You'll see the Catholic Church and other groups retreat to the position of not embracing gay marriage as a religious sacrament within the doors of the church but essentially shrugging at its acceptance in civil, secular society.

As I said, the Pope is who the Pope is. There's not going to be a pleasing of all people with whatever comes from his mouth. Agree with him or disagree with him on any one particular point, he's not going to be a trained monkey to any one particular ideology. That's just the reality of the situation.