I Was Gonna Freak Out About The Pope Visiting Kim Davis—Then Jesus Showed Up.

As a Christian and pastor (and former Catholic) who affirms the full equality of LGBTQ people, I’ll be honest: this one stings.

The revelation that Pope Francis secretly met with defiantly anti-gay Kentucky courthouse clerk Kim Davis during his recent US visit, was a real punch to the gut. (Truth be told, it was closer to a swift kick in the crotch.)

This was uniquely true for me, as I had only days ago published this piece, lauding the Pope’s seemingly fresh approach to ministry and the great things his trip here had appeared to yield in the name of religion.

(Impending facepalm in 3…2…1…)

When news of the clandestine chat broke, people who love and support the gay community (and of course many within the community itself) as well as anti-religious folks all unsurprisingly moved immediately into full-blown social media freak out mode—and I don’t blame them a bit. After…