Tom @LlamasNBC: “I’m curious, how important is being American to you? What do you love about America?” Pope Leo: “First of all, just to clarify, I think of myself more as the pope, who happens to be American. Not to belittle what it means to be American. I was born in the United States, my family is still in the United States. I have great love for America. But I understand my mission, having a very important mission, being pastor of a global church and having a voice and opportunity to speak to people throughout the world. So, I will put things in that order. At the same time I will acknowledge for myself as well as the people of the United States, judging by the response we’ve seen since May 8 of last year, that there is great significance in being the first American pope.”