Pope Leo, the first US pontiff, has expressed “great love” for his home country and its core principles of freedom, opportunity and welcoming immigrants, but qualified that he just “happens to be American”. When asked how important being American was to him, Leo said: “I think of myself more as the pope who happens to be American. Since being elected pontiff in May last year, Leo, 70, has repeatedly spoken up for migrants and called Trump’s immigration policies “inhuman”. Relations with the Trump administration worsened further after the pontiff strongly condemned the US-Israeli war against Iran. Leo told NBC that no trip had been planned, but he hoped to visit the US soon.