Pope claims Kim Davis has a ‘human right’ to block gay weddings
The Pope has spoken out in favour of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who continues to block the weddings of same-sex couples.
The Catholic leader recently concluded a tour of the US and Cuba – after warning lawmakers last week that “the very basis of marriage and the family” is being called into question.
Today, the leader also spoke out in favour of Kim Davis – who was briefly jailed for contempt of court after ignoring direct orders from courts to stop blocking gay weddings.
Speaking to reporters on his flight home, he was asked about Christian ‘martyrs’ including Davis who claim to be ‘persecuted’ for their actions.
He said: “Conscientious objection must enter into every juridical structure because it is a right.
“I can’t have in mind all cases that can exist about conscientious objection but, yes, I can say that conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right.
“And if someone does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right.”
Elsewhere on his trip, the Pontiff claimed that people were being ‘pressured’ into not starting families.
He said: “At the risk of oversimplifying, we might say that we live in a culture which pressures young people not to start a family, because they lack possibilities for the future.
“Yet this same culture presents others with so many options that they too are dissuaded from starting a family.”
Despite an early ‘who am I to judge’ PR blitz attempting to bolster his image, the Pope is yet to lift any of the actively homophobic and transphobic policies of his predecessors.
Proposals to ‘reach out’ to gay people were scrapped by the Church last year – and despite suggestions that the plans would return at a 2015 Synod, it soon became clear the Church has no plans to discuss the matter again.
The Pope has also increasingly rallied against same-sex marriage, inviting representatives from listed hate groups to a ‘traditional marriage’ conference, urging Slovakians to vote against equal marriage, which he claims “disfigures God’s creation”.
