The Young Pope, Lenny Belardo, and Chief Trevor Carpenter of Turtle Island
Young Pope (Lenny Belardo):
Chief Carpenter, Franjo Tuđman, the first president of Croatia, once said that soccer victories shape a nation just as much as wars. He knew this because his country was born in fire, yet it was the victories of their national team that gave Croatians pride, recognition, and unity on the world stage.
Chief Trevor Carpenter:
Yes, Holy Father, I’ve studied Croatia’s history. A small nation, underestimated, yet through football they earned respect. On Turtle Island, our people are also small in number compared to the great powers, but our spirit is vast. If we had a national team, it would be more than a sport—it would be a declaration that we exist as nations.
Young Pope:
Exactly. For many, war is the crucible of identity. But soccer, the game of the people, offers a peaceful battlefield. Croatia showed the world that eleven men on the pitch could be as powerful as any army. Your First Nations, through soccer, could rise in the same way.
Chief Carpenter:
Our children already play the game with passion, barefoot on reserves, on fields of grass and gravel. They need only the banner to play under—the flag of Turtle Island. If FIFA accepted us, if the world saw us not as scattered tribes but as one nation, then our story would change forever.
Young Pope:
And it must. Recognition comes not from begging the powerful but from showing the world your power in joy, in beauty, in victory. Soccer is your vessel. Chief Carpenter, your people must carry this flame—because a goal scored by Turtle Island will echo louder than a thousand speeches at the United Nations.
Chief Carpenter:
Then let it be done. Like Croatia, we too will be known not only for survival after centuries of war, but for triumph on the field. Turtle Island will play, and the world will learn our name.