Ky. Clerk Kim Davis Claims She Met Pope Francis During Recent U.S. Visit

The attorney for embattled Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has said that his client reportedly met Pope Francis in a private meeting when the pontiff recently visited the U.S.

According to NPR, the Vatican is neither confirming nor denying that the meeting took place while the pope was in Washington, D.C. this past week.

Davis, the clerk of Rowan County who has refused to issue gay marriage licenses based on her religious beliefs, said in a statement through her attorneys at the Liberty Counsel that she was thrilled to have met the pontiff.

"I never thought I would meet the Pope," Davis said in a statement through her lawyers. "Who am I to have this rare opportunity? I am just a County Clerk who loves Jesus and desires with all my heart to serve him."

"Pope Francis was kind, genuinely caring, and very personable. He even asked me to pray for him. Pope Francis thanked me for my courage and told me to 'stay strong,'" Davis added.

Media reports indicate that Davis met the pope on the same day the pontiff spoke to Congress regarding the importance of respecting human life at all stages, among other topics.

One his flight returning from the U.S. to the Vatican, the pope told a reporter that government workers should be able to deny their job duties based on their religious beliefs. The pope did not directly reference Davis, who was arrested earlier this month for refusing to issue gay marriage licenses to same sex couples in Rowan County.

"I can't have in mind all the cases that can exist about conscientious objection [...] but yes, I can say that conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right. It is a right. And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right," the pope said.