ROME — Pope Leo XIV marveled at the "huge learning curve" he took 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.

The pope also lamented widening income gaps between the working class and CEOs, recalling the recent news that Elon Musk could be in line to become the world's first trillionaire.

"If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we're in big trouble," Leo said in the comments, the pope's first interview as history's first American pope.

The comments came a day after Musk's brother's company, Nova Sky Stories, staged a light show over the Vatican featuring 3,000 drones depicting images from the Sistine Chapel and even Pope Francis' face.

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