ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV has marveled at the “huge learning curve” he has taken on as pontiff and likened some aspects of the job to jumping “in on the deep end of the pool very quickly," in excerpts of an interview released Sunday on his 70th birthday.

History's first American pope said he had quickly found his footing as a pastor for the universal Catholic Church, but discovered the diplomatic job of being pope was more challenging.

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