In his address to the authorities on Nov. 27, Pope Leo explained why he chose the Kanakkale Bridge as logo for his Türkiye trip and developed concepts similar to the ideas discussed in the EIR seminar of Oct. 22, dedicated to the Bering Strait Tunnel and world land-bridge infrastructures. His blessing of the bridge, currently the longest suspension bridge in the world, will resonate outside of Türkiye, including in Italy, where the Bridge over the Strait of Messina, whose design the Kanakkale Bridge is based on, is ready to be built.
“The image of the bridge over the Dardanelles Strait, chosen as the logo for my journey, eloquently expresses your country’s special role,” the Pope said. “You have an important place in both the present and future of the Mediterranean, and of the whole world, above all by valuing your internal diversity. Even before linking Asia with Europe, East with West, this bridge connects Türkiye to itself. It combines different parts of the country, making it from within, as it were, a ‘crossroads of sensibilities.’ In such a case, uniformity would be an impoverishment. Indeed, a society is alive if it has a plurality, for what makes it a civil society are the bridges that link its people together. Yet today, human communities are increasingly polarized and torn apart by extreme positions that fragment them. …
“The image of your great bridge is also helpful in this sense, for God, in revealing himself, established a bridge between heaven and earth. He did so in order that our hearts might change, becoming like his. It is a vast suspension bridge, almost defying the laws of physics. Likewise, in addition to its intimate and private aspects, love too has a visible and public dimension. …” said the Pope.
