The Vatican has announced that it will not take part in US President Donald Trump‘s Board of Peace despite an invitation issued in January to Pope Leo XIV to join the body.
The Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other states,” said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s top diplomat.
The “Board of Peace” was initially meant to supervise Gaza’s temporary governance following the latest conflict there, but Trump has since said that the body, with him as chair, would be expanded to deal with global conflicts.
While announcing that the Vatican would not participate, Parolin stressed that the United Nations is the body currently entrusted to address world crises.
“For us, there are … some critical issues that should be resolved, let’s say,” he said.
“That is, at the international level, it is above all the UN that manages these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have insisted.”
Since taking office, Pope Leo, the first US pontiff, has been outspoken in criticizing some of Trump’s policies.
At least 19 countries have signed the founding charter of the “Board of Peace” since Trump launched the initiative at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. They include Argentina, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, Italy and the European Union have said their representatives plan to attend as observers, as they have not formally joined the board.
