As we continue to assess the effects of Pope Francis’ first U.S. visit and look forward to the opening in a couple of days of the Bishops’ Synod on the Family. we get this interesting take on events from Daniel Burke at CNN.

The day before Pope Francis met anti-gay county clerk Kim Davis in Washington last week, he held a private meeting with a longtime friend from Argentina who has been in a same-sex relationship for 19 years.

“Yayo Grassi, an openly gay man, brought his partner, Iwan, as well (as) several other friends to the Vatican Embassy on September 23 for a brief visit with the Pope. A video of the meeting shows Grassi and Francis greeting each other with a warm hug.

“In an exclusive interview with CNN, Grassi declined to disclose details about the short visit, but said it was arranged personally by the Pope via email in the weeks ahead of Francis’ highly anticipated visit to the United States.

“‘Three weeks before the trip, he called me on the phone and said he would love to give me a hug,’ Grassi said.

“The meeting between Grassi and the Pope adds another intriguing twist to the strange aftermath of Francis’ first-ever trip to the United States. Since news broke on Tuesday (Sept. 29) of Francis’ meeting with Davis, conservatives have cheered the seemingly implicit endorsement, while liberals have questioned how much the Pope knew about her case.

“In a statement on Friday, the Vatican said that the meeting with Davis was not intended as a show of support for her cause and said “the only real audience granted by the Pope at the nunciature (embassy) was with one of his former students and his family.'”

By Daniel Burke, CNN Religion Editor — Click here to read the rest of this story.