Monday, September 28, 2015

Pope Backs Davis's Refusal to Issue Gay Licenses; States Conscientious Objection Is a Human Right

Pope Francis said today (September 28, 2015) that government officials have a "human right" to refuse to discharge a duty -- such as issuing marriage licenses to homosexuals -- if they feel it violates their conscience, the Reuters website reports.

Speaking to reporters on a plane as he returned to Rome from a 10-day trip to the United States and Cuba, Francis said, "Conscientious objection must enter every juridical structure because it is right."

Earlier this month, a county official in the state of Kentucky, Kim Davis, went to jail because she refused to issue a marriage license to a gay couple, following a U.S. Supreme Court decision to make homosexual marriage legal.

"And if someone does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right," the pope added.

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