I am sure you have all heard by now about the “secret meeting” that Pope Francis had with Kim Davis.
I am sure everyone's confused and pissed.
Lemme help.
So the Pope was all jazzed up about coming to America ‘cause he loves that we have total religious freedom here. In fact, he said that… like a lot. He said that America was founded on Religion and Morality. He said that one of America’s greatest fundamental rights is Religious Freedom. Yay for America on being the forefront of not persecuting different religions. GO US!
So, our righteous Pontifex comes to America and meets with someone who was recently imprisoned for her “religious beliefs.”
Kim. Davis.
He OUTRIGHT SAYS that he is unfamiliar with the case, but he congratulated her on her strength to fight for what she believes in.
Except…
What she “believes in” is not at all what he himself has preached.
“If someone is gay and searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
–Pope Francis
Remember that?
So, Francis is opening the dialogue on homosexuality (as well as other progressive beliefs) in the Church (COOL!) but we can’t expect things to happen overnight!
The Catholic Church is an institution that moves forward at a glacier’s pace. Remember back when the Church used to persecute scientists? Now the Pope is speaking out about Global Warming and we look back on those dark times and laugh. This too may pass, but it is going to take longer than one Pope’s liberal and comforting words to change the mindset of each and every one of the 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world!
But I digress.
My point is: the representatives to the Vatican, as well as Pope Francis, were sending a completely different message than what Kim Davis is trying to convey. Kim would tell you that the papacy was congratulating her on protecting the “sanctity of marriage” (I put that in quotes because I hear on good authority that she has been married like 4 times or something… does she get a good discount on marriage licenses?) However, the Vatican representatives set out to send a global message of congratulating a woman who stood her ground on her right to religious freedom.
Do I agree with Kim? No. I generally try not to agree with ANY Kim (Kardashian, Davis, Gibbler, or otherwise.)
But do I think that the Catholics who came to love Francis for his open mind and heart to all should shy away from him because of this misunderstanding?
Absolutely not.