Pope Leo XIV is now the most powerful American Catholic in the world, and experts say he must aptly walk the line between U.S. politics and his papal duties.

ROME - The new Chicago-raised Pope Leo XIV faces an immediate challenge in his native country: taming the brawling U.S. tribe of Catholics, riven by political divisions that have thwarted the will of his predecessors.

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV is in a new job that will have many crossovers into politics. It's a realm not entirely unknown to the Chicago-born priest.