Pope Leo XIV declines invite to join Trump’s Board of Peace

Pope Leo XIV has declined President Donald Trump’s invitation to hitch the newly established Board of Peace, citing a dedication to the United Nations because the worldwide peacekeeping physique. 

Whereas talking to reporters Tuesday, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin introduced that the Vatican “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States.” Parolin elaborated on the Vatican’s issues concerning the Board of Peace.

“There are points that leave us somewhat perplexed,” Parolin said. “There are some critical points that would need to find explanations.”

“At the international level, it should above all be the UN that manages these crisis situations,” he stated. “This is one of the points on which we have insisted.”

The Vatican is one in all a number of sovereign states worldwide which have declined Trump’s invitation to hitch the Board of Peace. Others embrace Denmark, France, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden. As defined on the Board of Peace’s official web site, a complete of 62 nations have been invited to hitch the worldwide physique. 

The Board of Peace was formally unveiled final month on the World Financial Discussion board in Switzerland. A part of Trump’s peace deal to finish the Israel-Hamas battle, the U.N. Safety Council authorized the creation of the Board of Peace in Decision 2803, envisioning the physique as “a transitional administration with international legal personality that will set the framework, and coordinate funding for, the redevelopment of Gaza pursuant to the” peace plan. 

The struggle within the Gaza Strip started after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror assault on civilians and navy targets in southern Israel, which prompted an Israeli navy offensive to eradicate Hamas and safe the discharge of hostages. 

The constitution of the Board of Peace says it seeks to “promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.” 

Trump serves as chair of the Board of Peace and appointed its Executive Board, which consists of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel Jr. 

The Executive Board is tasked with overseeing a “defined portfolio critical to Gaza’s stabilization and long-term success, including, but not limited to, governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilization.” 

Member states that have accepted Trump’s invitation to join the body and signed the charter at last month’s signing ceremony, include Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. Additional countries that are part of the Board of Peace but did not participate in the signing ceremony include Albania, Bahrain, Belarus, Egypt, Israel, Kuwait, Morocco and Vietnam. 

The U.N.’s authorization of the Board of Peace lasts through Dec. 31, 2027. At that time, the U.N. Security Council will decide whether or not to extend it. The charter for the Board of Peace states that the international body “shall dissolve at such time as the Chairman considers necessary or appropriate, or at the end of every odd-numbered calendar year, unless renewed by the Chairman no later than November 21 of such odd-numbered calendar year.”