The Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV will not take part in President Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza, instead advocating for the United Nations to manage the development.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, announced that the Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace due to its particular nature, which is clearly not that of other states,” Vatican News reports.
Parolin explained that some points in the plan “need to be explained,” although the “important thing is that an attempt is being made to provide an answer.”
“However, for us there are certain critical issues that should be resolved. One concern is that at the international level it should above all be the [United Nations] that manages these crisis situations,” he added. “This is one of the points on which we have insisted.”
The Board of Peace is scheduled to meet on Thursday. “On February 19th, 2026, I will again be joined by Board of Peace Members at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., where we will announce that Member States have pledged more than $5 BILLION DOLLARS toward the Gaza Humanitarian and Reconstruction efforts, and have committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and Local Police to maintain Security and Peace for Gazans,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. “Very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarization. The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History, and it is my honor to serve as its Chairman.”
