Pope Leo rejects Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ invite and backs UN to solve global crises

Pope Leo XIV has turned down Donald Trump’s invitation to join his so-called “Board of Peace”, a senior Vatican official said.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, told reporters on Tuesday that the Pope had a number of concerns about the initiative and that he “will not participate” as a result.

“For us, there are… some critical issues that should be resolved,” he said. “One 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.”

Mr Trump has invited a number of world leaders to join the board, originally conceived as a body to supervise the ceasefire in Gaza and coordinate the Strip’s reconstruction following the conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Its scope has since been expanded, with Mr Trump saying it would be well-placed to address a range of global disputes. Some see it as an effort by the US president to establish and alternative multilateral forum to the United Nations, which he has repeatedly criticised as not being fit for purpose.

It was Cardinal Parolin who earlier confirmed that the Pope had been invited to join the board by Mr Trump. He said in January that “the Pope has received the invitation, and we are considering what to do; we are looking into it.”

He said at the time that the invitation to join the board “requires some time to answer” and that the request “will not be to participate financially” because “we are not in a position to do so”.

Mr Trump claims the Board of Peace has already committed more than $5bn (£3.67bn) to help rebuild Gaza.

But there have been concerns over the board’s line-up, with European governments expressing surprise that Mr Trump had invited Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who has waged war on Ukraine since February 2022.

Arab states have also expressed anger at the inclusion of Benjamin Netanyahu, citing the Gaza war that has resulted in the deaths of 72,000 Palestinians.

And there have been concerns about the prominent role of former UK prime minister Tony Blair – one of the first names announced by Mr Trump in connection to the initiative. Mr Blair is expected to sit on the board’s founding executive despite longstanding criticism over Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war.

Despite the controversy, dozens of countries – including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Hungary, and the United Arab Emirates – have committed to joining the board.