Kim Davis

The clerk gained attention for refusing to issue same-sex couples marriage licenses.

The pope's meeting with Washington resident Yayo Grassi, his boyfriend and a few others came to light Friday as the Vatican was distancing itself from claims the pope's meeting with the clerk, Kim Davis, was an endorsement of her stance on same-sex marriage.

"He held out his hand to her and she grasped his hand," her attorney, Mat Staver, told The Associated Press. "He asked her to pray for him and she said she would; she asked the pope to pray for her, and he said he would."

The Vatican essentially confirmed the meeting: The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, given the opportunity to deny it took place, declined to do so and said merely that he would have no comment.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning lifted the contempt order against Davis, saying he was satisfied that her deputies were fulfilling their obligation to grant licenses to same-sex couples in her absence. But he warned Davis not to interfere.

The move came down just before Davis received jailhouse visits from Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz.

The filing seeks to have Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear accommodate Davis' "religious conviction," and not compel her to grant licenses to gay couples, Liberty Counsel said in a statement.

"The motion requests an injunction pending appeal for an exemption from the Governor's mandate that all county clerks issue marriage licenses," said the statement by Liberty Counsel, which is representing Davis.

An engaged gay couple marched into the clerk's office, asked for a marriage license and insisted that the latest in a string of court orders proves that they are entitled to one.

Then Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis' office turned them away for the third time.

William Smith Jr. and James Yates walked out of her office, shaking their heads in bewilderment.