US Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine believes the Catholic Church will eventually change its opposition to gay marriage.
Kaine is a devout Catholic as well as a US senator from Virginia and a former governor of that state.
He told the Human Rights Campaign during its national dinner on Saturday in Washington that he had changed his mind about gay marriage and that his church may follow suit one day.
``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.
He then recalled Pope Francis' remark that ``who am I to judge?'' in reference to gay people.
``I want to add: Who am I to challenge God for the beautiful diversity of the human family? I think we're supposed to celebrate it, not challenge it,'' Kaine said.
While he pledged to fight for increased rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans, Kaine admitted that he had opposed gay marriage until 2005.
``For a long time while I was battling for LGBT equality, I believed that marriage was something different,'' he said.
