The Board of Peace organization may have conducted its first session on Thursday, February 19, but the Vatican City abstained from attending the meeting following Pope Leo XIV’s rejection of Donald Trump’s invitation. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See Secretary of State, recently revealed the reason for the head of the Catholic Church’s absence, stating that the United Nations should be the organization responsible for dealing with global affairs.
Pope Leo XIV won’t join Board of Peace
On Tuesday, February 17, the Vatican’s top diplomat confirmed that Pope Leo XIV won’t be joining the Donald Trump-established Board of Peace.
Talking to reporters following an event with the Italian Government, Cardinal Pietro Parolin noted that several points of the US President’s proposal had left the Vatican “perplexed,” as per CNN. He then exclaimed that the nation’s primary concern “is that at the international level, it should above all be the UN that manages these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have insisted.”
The Cardinal added that Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican didn’t participate in Trump’s Board of Peace “because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States.”
Meanwhile, the White House described Pope Leo XIV’s rejection as “deeply unfortunate,” with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt replying to the Vatican’s decision by stating, “I don’t think that peace should be partisan or political or controversial. And of course, the administration wants all those who were invited to join the Board of Peace to join. This is a legitimate organization where there are tens of member countries from around the world, and we think that’s an unfortunate decision.”
Notably, Pope Leo XIV wasn’t the only public figure to decline Donald Trump’s invitation to the Board of Peace. Moreover, countries like India, Italy, Mexico, and more only attended the organization’s first meeting as observers. On the other hand, notable absentees from the session included the UK, Norway, France, Germany, Spain, and New Zealand, among others.
