Pope Francis is reportedly replacing the Vatican ambassador who set up his controversial meeting with Kentucky clerk Kim Davis,
according to Religion News Service.
Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has been the nuncio (ambassador) to the U.S. since 2011, and he stirred controversy when he arranged for the pope to meet Davis, who briefly went to jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Rowan County, Kentucky, last year.
According to Catholic magazine America, Viganò is rumored to be replaced before Easter by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, a 70-year-old French-born clergyman who is currently the nuncio to Mexico, and previously served as nuncio to Uganda and Haiti.
Viganò turned 75 in January, and it is typical for bishops and archbishops to submit a letter of resignation to the Vatican at that time. Sometimes the resignations are accepted, and sometimes the resignations are rejected, resulting in the clergyman staying in service for a few more years. There is no indication whether Viganò has submitted such a letter.
Politically liberal-leaning website
The Daily Kos reported on Wednesday that the pope was "firing" Viganò over the Davis meeting, but no other news sources, nor the Vatican, have given any concrete indication of his rumored departure, much less a reason for any such departure.
Before being named nuncio to the U.S. in 2011, Viganò served as secretary of the governorate of Vatican City State under Pope Benedict XVI, a position akin to that of a mayor.
After Viganò arranged for the Pope Francis' meeting with Davis, the Vatican went into damage-control mode,
The Advocate reported.
"His meeting with her should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects," a Vatican spokesman said at the time.
It emphasized further that the pope did not have any kind of private meeting with Davis, and that she was among several dozen people who met the pope during a reception. Davis is also part of the Apostolic Pentecostal Christian faith, and not a Catholic.
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