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.

The Kentucky county clerk who has refused to issue marriage licences to gay couples says she is not a homophobe and has never said anything hateful.

A Kentucky clerk said she will not stop deputies from issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples, but added that she will not authorise the licences and questioned their validity.

Official jailed for refusing to issue marriage licences to gay couples.