Kim Davis, the infamous Kentuckian who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and was ultimately arrested for ignoring a court order on the matter, had a secret private audience with Pope Francis on September 23, 2015.
Now, new details have emerged claiming the Pope knew about Davis’ anti-LGBTQ history the entire time – and, in fact, had told her to “stay strong.”
But that’s not the biggest bombshell.
When asked if the Pope knew Davis following their meeting, former Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said in 2015, “Such brief greetings occur on all papal visits and are due to the Pope’s characteristic kindness and availability.”
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The papal team explained that the only “real audience” the Pope had during his visit to Washington, DC was with a gay man and his partner, whom Francis knew from his time in Argentina.
Vatican officials told news outlets that “the meeting with Kim Davis irked Pope Francis, saying that he didn’t know the specifics of Davis’ situation before the meeting.”
“What is certain is that the Pope knew very well who Davis was, and he and his close collaborators had approved the private audience,” Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a Vatican ambassador from 2011-2016, has now claimed in a three-page letter gone viral.
“One of them is lying: either Cruz or the Pope? What is certain is that the Pope knew very well who Davis was, and he and his close collaborators had approved the private audience,” editorialized LifeSiteNews.
In another public letter that stretched 11 pages long, Vigano recently accused the Pope and other Vatican officials of weaving “a conspiracy of silence not so dissimilar from the one that prevails in the mafia.”
His statement was in regard to sexual assault that he claimed went all the way to the top of the Catholic Church.
Vigano then went into hiding.
“I spoke out because corruption has reached the top levels of Church hierarchy,” Vigano said.
Corruption that included covering up acts of unwanted sexual misconduct by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who resigned last month in disgrace.
Vigano’s statement also attacked the character of Cardinal Tarciscio Bertone, who was secretary of state under former Pope Benedict.
According to Reuters, Italian media reports have said Vigano was upset because Bertone had blocked any possibility of him becoming a cardinal.
Vigano said he gave up the possibility of becoming a cardinal “for the good of the Church.”
So, who is telling the truth and how high up does this spiderweb weave?
Editor’s update: This story was updated for clarity.
