Pope Francis secretly met Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis “who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and gave her words of encouragement,” Reuters reports.

A Vatican spokesman “said he would neither confirm nor deny the report and that there would be no further statement. This was unusual for the Vatican, which normally issues either denials or confirmations.”

Rick Klein: “It’s little surprise that this or any pope would stand up against gay marriage. But having spent time with this particular county clerk – the very public face of outright defiance of the US Supreme Court – has specific ramifications that surely the pope and those around him are aware of. Maybe that was the point – in which case conservatives have every bit as much of the right to cite this papal visit’s political message as their liberal friends.”