a link to Pope Francis' meeting with a gay friend and his partner of 19 years followed by a Vatican spokesman making it quite clear that it was the Papal Nuncio who needs to answer the question about why the Pope met Kim Davis. (in the New York Times.)

Pope Francis and Kim Davis

Like so many others, I heard about Francis' meeting with Kim Davis with a heavy heart. I read Father James Martin's conciliatory Facebook entry yesterday with some misgiving: it seemed so unlikely that Francis, an intelligent and thoughtful man if ever there was one, could have met this lady unless he wanted to make a point. The question in everyone's minds was, I think, what exactly was the point he was trying to make? I read many conflicting replies to Father Martin's post (and there were nearly 300 when I last looked) and remained unconvinced and flummoxed until I read an article from "Esquire" magazine linked somewhere in the original post. The cynicism was shocking but today it is becoming clear, through a Vatican spokesman no less, that it was indeed the American Nuncio who arranged for her to be there and who presumably organised for the media to find out.  There is a link in the Esquire post to a Washington Post article about the apparent backlash that is brewing amongst the conservatives in the church, most notably in the American branch. I really shouldn't be surprised, though it is so hard to comprehend that there really are Catholics out there who cannot love Francis. 

And then today, a really interesting development which should do much to reassure.