I wrote in the last two days about Pope Leo's visit to Turkey, who did not visit the Hagia Sophia, but visited the Blue Mosque, which is located right next to Hagia Sophia. The most beautiful and powerful message he gave in Turkey was the one he gave to the religious and political representatives who had gathered at the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul on November 29th.
What did he say there? He began his speech by referring to his leadership position using the traditional term “pontificate.” The word “pontifex” literally means “bridge-builder.” So the pontificate would mean his “time of bridge-building.” A metaphor he later used repeatedly was about “building bridges.” He recalled that Istanbul and Turkey as places that connect Europe with Asia; the West with the East. Istanbul has three bridges connecting two continents. He was using the Dardanelles, the main bridge as a metaphor for all the bridges that we need to build. He was talking about the need to build more Dardanelles bridges of unity, peace, and understanding.
"A society is alive if it has a plurality." Who would even think that these words would come out of a Pope!
Look at another line he said: Yet today human communities are increasingly polarized and torn apart by extreme positions that fragment them."
-Yes. That is the trending fashion these days. We need the most divisive and polarizing alienation!
The first part of that line is more noteworthy. "What it makes a civil society are the bridges that link its people together." Even many spiritual leaders are selling constantly things that will make our civil societies nullify itself!
Pope Leo, who recalled that Pope John XXIII had worked tirelessly to urge Catholics not to be left out of the development process of this country, even went so far as to make a daring promise to Turkey.
“I willingly assure you that Christians desire to contribute positively to the unity of your country." What a powerful statement!
The Pope did not have to think twice before saying such a thing. Because they are supposed to contribute to unity. Not to disunity and separatism. Not to exclude any other minority groups.
But I don't have the confidence to think he could give the same assurance if he visited my own country or my host country, as he did in Turkey!
