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 The meeting between Francis, an Argentine gay man and his
long-term partner came to light as the Vatican tried to tamp down
controversy about a separate meeting the pope held with well-known
American gay marriage opponent Kim Davis.
The pontiff met on Sept. 23 with Yayo Grassi, a U.S-based Argentine
caterer, Grassi's male partner of 19 years, Iwan Bagus and three
other people for 15 minutes, Grassi told Reuters.
Grassi, 67, has known the pope since Francis, 78, taught him
literature and psychology at a high school in Argentina in the 1960s
and has stayed in touch.
"What I can say is that he met with me knowing that I am gay, and we
had an extraordinary, very moving conversation," Grassi said.
The Vatican confirmed the meeting. A statement said Grassi, who had
met the pope in the past, asked to present his mother and several
friends to the pontiff in Washington.
 "As noted in the past, the pope, as pastor, has maintained many
personal relationships with people in a spirit of kindness, welcome
and dialogue," spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said.
Both Grassi and his partner posted a video of the encounter on their
Facebook pages.
The video shows Francis and his former student warmly embracing and
chatting in Spanish in an ornate room in the embassy.
Grassi then introduces the pope one-by-one to three women and his
partner, Bagus. Francis appears to know Bagus, and they shake hands
warmly and talk about having met earlier in Rome.
At the end of their conversation, Francis embraces both men and
kisses them on the cheek.
Grassi said that in 2010 he had emailed Francis, then archbishop of
Buenos Aires, about gay issues, and his former teacher replied to
say he would not tolerate homophobia.
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The gay couple met the pope in Rome in 2013 shortly after Francis
became pontiff, Grassi said. He described last week's encounter as
"two friends seeing each other after a while."
Their meeting happened a day before Francis met Davis, a Kentucky
county clerk who went to jail for refusing to issue marriage
licenses to same-sex couples.
In a bid to contain the controversy about the meeting with Davis,
the Vatican said on Friday that the meeting with her should not be
seen as an endorsement of her views.
The progressive group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
welcomed the news that Francis had met the gay couple.
"Pope Francis never ceases to surprise us. The news that Francis met
with a gay couple should put to rest any notion that Pope Francis is
held down by the narrow ideological divisions that plague the United
States. He is first and foremost a pastor who is willing to
encounter and engage anyone," the group's executive director,
Christopher Hale, said in a statement.
(Additional reporting by Philip Pullella in Rome; Editing by Kevin
Drawbaugh and Jonathan Oatis)
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