It’s almost laughable if it wasn’t so pathetic.

The Vatican is now downplaying the “brief meeting” Pope Francis had with Kim Davis during his trip to the U.S.

From the National Catholic Register:

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, this morning issued the following statement regarding the meeting of Pope Francis and Kim Davis at the Nunciature in Washington, DC:

‘The brief meeting between Mrs. Kim Davis and Pope Francis at the Apostolic Nunciature in  Washington, DC has continued to provoke comments and discussion. In order to contribute to an objective understanding of what transpired I am able to clarify the following points:

‘Pope Francis met with several dozen persons who had been invited by the Nunciature to greet him as he prepared to leave Washington for New York City. Such brief greetings occur on all papal visits and are due to the pope’s characteristic kindness and availability. The only real audience granted by the pope at the Nunciature was with one of his former students and his family.

‘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.’

Interestingly, CNN reports that the former student alluded to in the Vatican’s statement has been in a same-sex relationship for 19 years.

Liberty Counsel, the law firm representing Davis, subsequently released a statement of its own, asserting (in part):

‘Despite a statement this morning by a Vatican official, the pope’s own words about conscientious objection being a human right and his private meeting with Kim Davis indicate support for the universal right of conscientious objection, even for government officials.

‘The meeting with Kim Davis was initiated by the Vatican, and the private meeting occurred at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, September 24. This meeting was a private meeting without any other members of the public present.

‘Today a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said: ‘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.’

‘Neither Kim Davis nor Liberty Counsel ever said the meeting was an endorsement of particular and complex aspects of her legal case. Rather, the meeting was a pastoral meeting to encourage Kim Davis in which Pope Francis thanked her for her courage and told her to ‘Stay strong.’ His words and actions support the universal human right to conscientious objection,” said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel.’

God forbid the Vatican should be seen as politicizing anything.  Well, anything not favored by the left, that is!

One thing is obvious from this PR mess: the Catholic clergy is divided on matters of sexual morality, despite the clear teachings of the Church on said matters.  The bishops participating in the upcoming synod could very well become involved in a fierce spiritual battle, if they aren’t already.

As to whose side the pope is on, well, time will tell.

In November of 2013, I told Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times that Pope Francis’s pontificate had thus far “been a roller-coaster ride.”

That ride continues to this day.