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The possible future vice president of the United States told an LGBT audience that he believes the Roman Catholic Church will embrace same-sex marriage.
Both Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Virginia senator Tim Kaine, appeared among LGBT audiences in the past few days. Clinton infamously made her "basket of deplorables" comment at a New York event on Friday featuring Barbra Streisand (Clinton has since walked back her take on some of Donald Trump's supporters), while Kaine was the headliner for a Washington, D.C. gala for the Human Rights Campaign on Saturday.
Kaine expectedly jumped on Donald Trump at the D.C. dinner, calling the Republican candidate the "gravest threat" to LGBT Americans. But Kaine surprised some by also bringing up the Roman Catholic Church's fierce resistance to marriage equality. Kaine, a devout Catholic, said he believes there will be a turn-around in church policy; something that could influence nations around the world to embrace same-sex marriage rights.
"I think it's going to change because my church also teaches me about a creator who, in the first chapter of Genesis, surveyed the entire world, including mankind, and said, 'It is very good,'" Kaine said, according to PBS NewsHour. Watch below.
The current pontiff, Francis, is more progressive than his predecessor, Benedict. While Francis made it clear in October that the church does not condone same-sex marriage, he urged the Church to be more "compassionate and merciful" to all and previously said, "Who am I to judge?" when it came to gay priests.
Kaine himself has evolved on marriage equality -- with some saying his waffling was "painful" -- but is now well-respected by LGBT advocates in his home state.
