 Pope also suggests Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who was jailed for refusing marriage licences to gay couples, was denied her right to religious freedom 
 
 Pope Francis on clerical abuse: 'I do not judge those who are not able to forgive' 
 
 Pope Francis has said he understands why some victims of clerical sex abuse and their families could not forgive the church for the suffering they faced, saying such abuse was “almost a sacrilege”. In remarks during a 47-minute press conference on his flight back to Rome after a tour of the US, the pope also sought to clarify controversial remarks he made to American bishops, when he congratulated them on their “courageous” handling of the sex abuse crisis. The pontiff was asked: “Do you … support those individuals, including government officials, who say they cannot in good conscience, their own personal conscience, abide by some laws or discharge their duties as government officials, for example when issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples?” 
 
 He did not refer specifically to Davis in his reply, saying: “I can’t have in mind all the cases that can exist about conscientious objection … but yes, I can say that conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right. Pope Francis appeared to weigh in on the side of anti-gay-marriage clerk Kim Davis, saying government workers have a "human right" to refuse to carry out a duty if they have a “conscientious objection.” 
 
 While returning from his visit to the U.S., the pontiff told reporters aboard the papal plane Monday that anyone who prevents others from exercising their religious freedom is denying them a human right. And if a person does not allow others to be conscientious objectors, then they deny them a right.” 
 
 He then made a reference to the Song of Roland, an epic poem that describes the death of Charlemagne’s nephew Roland at the battle of Roncevaux. "Otherwise we would end up in a situation where we select what is a right, saying: 'This right has merit, this one does not.'" Earlier this month a city official in the U.S. state of Kentucky, Kim Davis, went to jail because she refused to issue a marriage license to a gay couple following a Supreme Court decision to make homosexual marriage legal. When asked to turn his focus to the plight of tens of thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East who are making their way to Europe for refuge, Francis said it was a crisis that was a long time in the making. Walls are not a solution." Asked about barriers being but up in Europe to stop the influx of migrants, the pope said: "All walls collapse, today, tomorrow or after 100 years, but they will collapse. Asked about the US, the pope said he was surprised by people’s warmth and the different receptions he received in Washington, which was warm but formal; New York, which was overflowing; and Philadelphia, where people were “expressive”. "The media uses this term, but there is another truth - how many stars have we seen go out and fall. It is a fleeting thing. Instead being a 'servant of the servants of God' does not pass," the pope said, referring to one of the titles of his office.
– Pope Francis made news even while flying home to Rome after his US visit, weighing in on the issue of gay marriage with comments sure to please Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis. Asked whether government employees should be allowed to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the pope said yes, reports NBC News. "Conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right," said Francis, who did not mention the Davis case in particular. "It is a right. And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right." Pressed on whether the principle does indeed apply to government workers, he elaborated: "It is a human right and if a government official is a human person, he has that right. It is a human right." The comments will surely be seen as a boon for Davis—see the headline in the Huffington Post declaring that "The Pope Just Handed Kim Davis a Huge Win," for example. The Guardian has a more nuanced view, observing that "the remarks about conscientious objectors seem to reflect Francis’s views on the importance of religious freedom, rather than gay marriage specifically." In his hourlong talk with reporters, Francis also repeated his condemnation of abusive priests, reports Reuters. The victim "is crushed by evil and this is nearly a sacrilege because the priest has betrayed his vocation, the calling of the Lord." (Click for one columnist's reasoning as to why Davis should never have gone to jail.)