September 30, 2015

The Pope told Kim Davis to "stay strong."

When he was in Washington, D.C.:
During Ms. Davis’s visit to the Vatican Embassy, “the pope came to her and held out his hand,” [Davis's lawyer] said. Ms. Davis asked the pope to pray for her, which he said he would, and then the pope asked Ms. Davis to pray for him, Mr. Staver said. They spoke in English, he said, and the pope gave the Davises two rosaries. Ms. Davis gave the rosaries to her mother and father, who are Catholics.... “He thanked her for her courage and told her, ‘Stay strong,’ ” Mr. Staver said.
Also: "While in Washington, Francis also made an unscheduled stop to see the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of nuns that is suing the federal government over the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate."

31 comments:

Brando said...

Could it be the liberal infatuation with Pope Francis may be coming to an end?

Bob Ellison said...

The pope's playing rope-a-dope.

Laslo Spatula said...

Pope Chauncey Gardiner.

I am Laslo.

Sprezzatura said...

Did the Pope get a chance to comment on 3 billion year old Martian climate change?

What is the Church's opinion of this sort of science based timeline? If this science is acceptable, what did God do for the 13, or so, billion years before he decided to spend the last split second (relatively speaking) creating gals and worrying about their lady parts?

Amichel said...

Breaking News: The Pope still Catholic

Bay Area Guy said...

The Pope is for massive procreation. He wants more Catholics. By definition, it means he's against abortion and gay marriage, duh.

Michael K said...

Maybe the guy has possibilities. The Left will drop him like a hot rock if he keeps this up.

CWJ said...

I believe this and the visit to the little sisters of the poor, both happening in Washington, were the Vatican's response to the White House's gay bishop, etc. guest list. The Vatican has practised politics for centuries longer than Chicago has even been in existence. Amateurs should not go up against professionals.

MadisonMan said...

Did he also tell her to tithe?

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I still don't know what it means to pray for someone.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I know some guy, seems to be a pretty devout Catholic, who says "I'll light a candle for you" on a predictable basis.

I just assumed that meant he went to church and paid some small amount of money for little votive candles or something for some kind of informal ceremony or ritualistic display, kind of like how the Buddhists or Taoists or whomever they are purchase the little prayer paper things at the temples.

It's a way to donate to the church and play a kind of cosmic lottery at the same time.

But, as I say so very often -- and it's true -- I don't know jack shit.

Lyssa said...

I've been watching the comment board at Slate blow up over this. It's astounding. First, when it was unconfirmed, there were dozens of comments about how it could not be true, could never be true. Then, the Vatican confirmed it, and they are practically in tears. He was their hero, and this one thing (without even knowing anything about the content of the discussion) completely ruins him.

CWJ said...

I think the clear Vatican message is we're already in line with most of your secular issues, so keep your damn nose out of church doctrine. The guest list thing was just another example of this administration's tendency to ignore or needlessly offend the sensibilities of our allies. The pope is pretty much on board with the White House's views on climate change and economics. That's a major "get." And yet their reaction was thank you for your support. Now here's a poke in the eye for your trouble.

Anonymous said...

The funniest part of this story....http://perezhilton.com/2015-09-29-gay-marriage-pizza-place-memories-indiana-homophobic-wedding-caterers#.Vgv6IJXltes is that they never said they wouldn't serve gays....just that they wouldn't cater a gay wedding. Since they didn't cater a wedding, and this was a take out pick up....it goes to show WHO is the ones being biased...and it wasn't the pizza place...it was the gay men who thought they pulled one over on a place that doesn't discriminate....Gaystapo at it's finest!!!

Birches said...

Ha Ha Ha. The Schadenfreude is delicious.

When you use the Pope as an appeal to authority, you're stuck with him.

Renee said...

What I posted on Facebook... kinda of long

"Watershed moment in the Culture Wars
I wish I could just post cute picks of dogs and kids, but social media is also about discussions, the same way we use to talk about politics at the dinner table or with friends 25 years ago. So yes, I’m writing this and posting it publicly.
Now that’s it has been confirmed that Pope Francis has met with Kim Davis (reported by the New York Times/Rome Reports), I’m your Kim Davis. I think you all know that by now. Every time I saw any one posted/shared/liked something that vilified Kim Davis, I said a prayer for her, you, and myself. I knew I couldn’t of done what she did, and I would made a different argument in my defense of marriage, but everyone I have to say I’m was very upset how you participated in the nasty bullying of this woman.
It wasn’t direct, it was passive. You didn’t create that nasty meme or wrote that mocking status update, you just shared and liked it. I said a prayer. But I did it with frustration and anger. Are you happy you made her, in this digital age, a martyr? Haven’t you read the lives of Saints, the most remarkable ones were the sinners (the hot messes). And that is what draws me to Christ."

Renee said...

another part....

"I live in a society, that even I teach my children that “even gay kids have a mom & dad”, they can easily face ridicule by some social justice warrior who wants to be them in their place, in which I’m now have to instruct them be stay quite on the subject in public. Remember when everyone went hysterical with “Who am I to judge?”, but if anyone actually read the transcript it was the Pope being critical of the gay lobby.
Yes, I have and will still be holding my views strongly on the understanding and support of the family. Cracks can occur with family disruption, but with enough social supports the foundation can be mended and rebuilt. The problem is in so many situations for children, their foundation has completely crumbled.
Now does anyone want to talk public policy, because President Obama had some great legislation back in 2007 on responsible fatherhood and marriage?
I’m also in disbelief that so many Catholics can’t accept that the Pope met with Kim Davis.
I’m your Kim Davis."

Deirdre Mundy said...

Renee- The reason Catholics can't accept it is because a lot of us wrote her off as crazy and embarassing. Why couldn't she resign quietly? Why did she make such a stink? etc. etc.

So, now, the pope says "She did right. And she has a human right to follow her conscience in this."

Well.... suddenly, that makes us... wrong. And it means that our current strategy of 'We lost, keep our mouths shut as long as they don't touch the sacraments" is...... wrong.

And that's deeply uncomfortable, because to take a stand means threatening our comfortable existence.


So yeah...it';s easier to deny it, because the reality is actually punch-in-the-gut uncomfortable.

Renee said...

I'm no fan of her entourage, but I think she is genuine.
MudBlood Catholic

"By obeying her conscience and peaceably accepting imprisonment, Davis has entered the high tradition of civil disobedience. Indeed, refusal to comply with a law and accepting the penalty for your refusal is civil disobedience in a nutshell. Gandhi, one of the great sages of that tradition, taught with great care and emphasis that the thing that makes passive or civil resistance righteous is precisely this decision to accept the consequences, to suffer in oneself rather than inflicting suffering on others by violence -- and, incidentally, pointed out also that if a person is mistaken in their views, civil disobedience has the advantage of causing only themselves to suffer for the mistake. Martin Luther King followed the same teaching, influenced by students of Gandhi and Christian pacifists.

I would, also, pose a question to those who criticize her for failing to do her job. Without wishing to cast any doubt on the sincerity of your beliefs, have you ever gone as far as she has in standing up for what you believe? Could you go to prison in defense of gay marriage? What, in fact, did you do for gay marriage, aside from some Facebook likes and a drunken rant to a friend after your poli-sci midterm?"

"People will say that Kim Davis is no MLK. Certainly not. And, yes, her own track record on marriage is by no means a perfect one.** But we do not earn the right to obey our consciences by being saints already, or even mere heroes. Obeying your conscience is what raises you to heroism. I think that Davis' decision to follow the path of civil disobedience in this case, even though I disagree with her grounds for doing so, ennobles her."

n.n said...

If only "=" supported equal treatment, and would forego their religious prejudice. As it is, their construction of congruences betrays their motives and moral edifice.

Birches said...

Well said Renee, all the posts.

hombre said...

After consorting with the Abortionist-in-Chief without, as far as I know, commenting on that issue, I'm disappointed to see the Pope take on this one.

As absurd and immoral as gay marriage is, it is a pinprick when compared to 53 million abortions.

As for individuals standing up for their beliefs - civil disobedience and all that - I'm for it. My enthusiasm wanes, however, when the disobedience involves violating an oath to do one's duty as a public official - an oath that was likely, oh by the way, taken before God.

hombre said...

"...which sinners they are supposed to shun ...." We're supposed to shun sinners and oppose equal civil rights for some? Really?

Birches said...

Kim Davis is easy to mock because she is so obviously "other."

Delayna said...

"My enthusiasm wanes, however, when the disobedience involves violating an oath to do one's duty as a public official - an oath that was likely, oh by the way, taken before God."

I'm not a public official, so I don't know what soul-searching a person with a conscience would go through in seeking or taking on an office. But I should point out: the laws were changed by the SCOTUS after she took office. Would she have sought the position if she knew in advance that part of her required duties would violate her religious beliefs? I don't know.

Birches said...

The risk of a redefinition of marriage is that this social understanding and the goods it promotes are in danger of being lost in the new adultcentered version of marriage.

This.

My SIL is going to file for divorce next week. In the email to my spouse explaining how everything is going to be ok, she never once mentioned how her kids would handle things. It was all me, me me. As a child of divorce, it made me sick.

paminwi said...

I was just happy liberal heads were exploding all over the place today.
It brought a smile to my face!

ndspinelli said...

There's a couple abortion loving, Catholic hating heads exploding in the name of Mrs. and Mr. Althouse.

hombre said...

"Would she have sought the position if she knew...." (3:24)

It's a fair point. The counterpoint is she didn't swear to enforce and obey the law only if it stayed the same.

I'm a Christian and I'm troubled by the fact that her sworn oath had little enunciated effect on her decision.

Delayna said...

"I'm a Christian and I'm troubled by the fact that her sworn oath had little enunciated effect on her decision."

Yeah, I get what you mean. I guess if I swore to uphold law "A" and it changed to law "B" I'd quit and find another way to make a living.

Renee said...

Yeah, but we have two tracks. A legal track & a cultural war track.

I agree if you can't fulfill your duties, resign.

But man, oh man, the cultural warriors would have a field day as a 'win', if that dumb hypocritical Chirtian hick just resigned.

Force an impeachment or contempt... Smear her, shame her in social media with no holding back. Give what deserves of her for not folding like Hilary!

When an out of state couple comes to your counter with the media, I say "Stay Strong".

It's one thing to disagree or state why a person is wrong, and another to go all Gawker on an individual who you disagree with.

So much for all anti-bullying education in school.