The Vatican has distanced Pope Francis from Kim Davis, the focal point in the gay marriage debate in the US, saying she was one of dozens of people the Pope greeted in Washington and that their encounter “should not be considered a form of support of her position”.

Pope Francis secretly met a Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licences to gay couples and gave her words of encouragement, her attorney said.

A US appeal court has blocked a first-of-its-kind California law that bans therapy aimed at turning gay youngsters straight.

Conservative evangelical leaders met privately this week to discuss putting aside their misgivings about John McCain and coalescing around the Republican’s presidential bid while urging him to consider social conservative favourite Mike Huckabee as a running mate.

California’s attorney general has been ordered to “take immediate steps” to get a court ruling to put an end to same-sex marriages in San Francisco.