If Pope Leo XIV decides to take on some of the world’s most powerful leaders, he can rely on the nerves of steel he developed while leading the Catholic Church in his adopted homeland of Peru. 

When he was archbishop, he found himself in the middle of a conflict between the leftist guerilla movement, known as the Shining Path, and the right-wing Catholic group Opus Dei, which supported the authoritarian government. 

GUEST:

MATTHEW CASEY-PARISEAULT of Arizona State University is based in Lima, where he studies the relationship between the church and state.