LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The private meeting Pope Francis held with defiant Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is a strong papal endorsement of religious resistance to gay marriage, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he approves of how she’s waged her fight, experts said Wednesday.

The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, said their encounter in Washington last Thursday was private. Out of deference to the Vatican, Davis’ attorney, Mat Staver, would not say how it was arranged. The Vatican essentially confirmed it, without further comment.

Davis said she grasped the pope’s outstretched hand, and he told her to “stay strong.”

Davis refused to issue any marriage licenses in Rowan County, Kentucky, rather than comply with the Supreme Court ruling that effectively legalized gay marriage nationwide. She served five days in jail rather than resign. Some of her deputies now issue licenses without her authority, and she claims they are invalid.

“Just knowing that the pope is on track with what we’re doing and agreeing, you know, it kind of validates everything,” Davis told ABC News.

But Vatican observers say that’s reading too much into the visit.

“You can’t take his presence with somebody as his affirmation of everything that they stand for,” said Cathleen Kaveny, a theologian and legal scholar at Boston College. “He thanked her for her courage and told her to stay strong. That’s a commitment to her voice in the conversation. I don’t think it’s necessarily commitment to her policy views.”

Staver’s revelation that Francis met his Apostolic Christian client at the Vatican Embassy after speaking to Congress provided a stunning coda to the pope’s triumphant visit, which ended Sunday.

Francis largely steered clear of culture war issues, telling the U.S. bishops to avoid “harsh and divisive” language despite the challenges they face in society.

From the start of his six-day tour, Francis encouraged Americans to preserve religious freedom, but did so among a list of many other issues.

At the White House, he said “American Catholics are committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive,” then said “they are likewise concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and their right to religious liberty.”

Religious freedom, Francis said, is “one of America’s most precious possessions.”

Still, with much ground to cover during his first U.S. trip, Francis also emphasized immigration, climate change, workers’ rights, the death penalty and war.