i assume the pope/Vatican is aware of the hurt felt by those who saw his meeting w/Davis as a slap in the face. if so, i assume that the Vatican issued a statement clarifying his position - he didn't mean to show Davis support and may not have been aware of the potential ramifications of meeting w/her - b/c the pope and/or the Vat wanted to assuage some of that hurt. some are interpreting the statement to mean that the pope did indeed intend to stay out of the fray surrounding the states' issuance of marriage licenses to gay couples. and he didn't necessarily mean to include Davis's act when he spoke of conscientious objection as an important right.

if this is true i'm glad the pope is so aware and concerned about the ppl w/whom he seems to want to curry good will. none of that was clear before the most recent statement. so i won't 'apologize' for expressing what i thought in the wake of the previous climate. i stand by everything i said.