Pope Francis says Kim Davis did nothing wrong by refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
Kim Davis, the county clerk who felt that it was against God’s law to follow the constitution, now has one more major supporter on her side. Pope Francis, who recently earned the nickname “cool pope,” says it’s okay for government workers to not do their jobs if they interfere with their religious beliefs. In fact, he argues, conscientious objection must enter every ‘juridical structure’ because it’s a fundamental right. Even when one is an elected official whose job is to uphold the laws.
While returning from his visit to the U.S., the pope told reporters aboard his plane Monday that anyone who prevents others from exercising their religious freedom is denying them a human right. His comments are more likely to pontificated by backers of Kentucky-based Davis, whose refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, in defiance of a Supreme Court ruling. Pope Francis was asked: “Do you … support those individuals, including government officials, who say they cannot in good conscience, their own personal conscience, abide by some laws or discharge their duties as government officials, for example when issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples?”
The pontiff did not refer specifically to Davis in his reply, saying: “I can’t have in mind all the 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. It is a right. And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right.”
Francis added: “Conscientious objection must enter into every juridical structure because it is a right, a human right. Otherwise we would end up in a situation where we select what is a right, saying, ‘this right that has merit, this one does not.'”
The pope was then asked if this principle applied to government officials carrying out their responsibilities, he replied: “It is a human right and if a government official is a human person, he has that right. It is a human right.”
Source: NBC News
