Even by that standard, the fracas surrounding Pope Francis' meeting with Kim Davis last week, which broke out immediately after his massively successful US trip, sets a new standard.

Without necessarily blaming the pope's own media team, which seemingly was caught as off-guard as everyone else, there have been three separate breakdowns in communications strategy:

• Apparently believing (or perhaps just hoping) that the pope's brief encounter with the Kentucky clerk wouldn't leak out.
• Not being prepared to respond immediately when the news did break, thereby creating an interpretive vacuum.
• Issuing a belated statement saying the pope did not intend to endorse Davis' position "in all its particular and complex aspects," but leaving unresolved precisely what he did mean by it.

One predictable consequence is that just as the past 48 hours were consumed by speculation over who put the pope up to the meeting, the next 48 will probably be marked by conspiracy theories as to who put him up to issuing the statement.

Another is that liberals will take a maximal reading of the statement, suggesting the pope has disavowed Davis, while conservatives will argue it simply means Francis hasn't written her a blank check. Perhaps intentionally, the brief text could lend itself to either interpretation.

For a pope who by rights should be basking in the after-glow of a bravura outing to Cuba and the United States, it's a fairly depressing scenario.

Aside from Machiavellian subplots and political spin, there is one serious conclusion to be drawn from the mess: There is now an urgent need for the Catholic Church to elaborate on precisely how it understands the right, and the limits, of conscientious objection. Continue reading

Sources

• Image: YouTube
• John L. Allen Jr., associate editor of Crux and specializes in coverage of the Vatican.

The Kentucky county clerk was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples.

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, said Pope Francis briefly met several dozen people in the nunciature in Washington.

"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," Fr Lombardi said.

Continue reading

The story was first reported by Robert Moynihan at Inside the Vatican; subsequently, ABC News interviewed Ms. Davis.

Confirming the meeting, but offering no further details, the Vatican spokesperson, Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., said "I do not deny that the meeting took place, but I have no other comments to add."

A few things to bear in mind:

1. Pope Francis met with many individuals during his visits in Washington, New York, and Philadelphia, at various locations and events.
2. Such meetings are arranged in several ways.
3. It's hard to know how much the Pope Francis knew about each individual who was introduced to him during his long trip to the United States.
4. His words to her, "Be strong," and his gift of a rosary seem to be the kind of thing the pope might do for anyone presented to him.
5. For those wondering what all of this means, it's probably best not to interpret a meeting that the Vatican will not speak about, and also to be careful about swallowing wholesale the interpretation of those who would use this meeting to support their own agenda.
6. It's ill advised to use a private visit with the pope to make political point.
7. Most of all, despite what Ms. Davis said, a meeting with the pope does not "kind of validate everything"; Pope Francis also met Mark Wahlberg, and that does not mean that he liked "Ted." Continue reading

Kim Davis is the county clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky who gained national media attention after defying a federal court order requiring that she issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

Sources

• James Martin, is a Jesuit priest, contributing editor to America magazine and author of several books.
• Image: Inside Loyola