Kim Davis’ Attorney: Vatican Invited Her To Meet The Pope. Vatican Spokesman: No Comment

The Vatican refuses to confirm or deny Kim Davis’ attorney’s claim that she was invited and met with Pope Francis during his trip to D.C.

Minutes after delivering a speech to Congress, Pope Francis last Thursday met with Kim Davis and her husband Joe at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, D.C., according to her attorney, Mat Staver. 

In a lengthy interview with CBS News Tuesday night by telephone, Staver, chair of Liberty Counsel, detailed how the Vatican reached out to Davis several “days in advance” to request her presence, because, Staver said, the Pope had been following the news of her story and was very interested in it.

 UPDATE – Breaking: Vatican Now Confirms Kim Davis Met With The Pope

Staver, who said he wouldn’t “go into detail” explained how Davis, who was in town on Saturday to receive an award at the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit, was whisked into the embassy’s garage in an SUV, and avoided the throngs of reporters by arranging “her hair up in a different way because her hair is very recognizable from the mug shot.” He says the meeting “took place between 2:30 and 3:00.”

Reuters reports today that “Vatican chief spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said he would neither confirm nor deny the report and that there would be no further statement. This was unusual for the Vatican, which normally issues either denials or confirmations.” 

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CNN also reports that Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman, said, “We do not confirm nor deny the story. There will be no statement.”

Staver told CBS News the Vatican wanted to keep the meeting, which lasted he said between 10 and 15 minutes, private to not interfere with the Pope’s messages during his visit, but now that his trip to the U.S. has concluded and enough time has passed, the Vatican gave him “the opportunity” to release the story. He also claims there are photographs which he will release at a later date.

“He thanked her for her courage,” and told her to “stay strong,” Staver said, adding the Pope spoke in English.

 

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Image: Screenshot via NY Times