Vatican declines to join Trump’s Gaza ‘Board of Peace,’ calls for UN leadership

The Vatican will not join PresidentDonald Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace, its top diplomatic official said Tuesday, signaling reluctance from the Holy See to take part in the post-war initiative.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States,” the Vatican’s official news outlet reported.

The Board of Peace, which was chartered in January and includes nearly 20 countries, is tasked with managing recovery efforts in the Gaza Strip after the Israel-Hamas war.

While responding to questions aboutItaly declining to join the board, Parolin said “there are points that leave us somewhat perplexed,” adding that “there are some critical points that would need to find explanations.”

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The Vatican announced it will not participate in President Trump’s Gaza recovery board.(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

“The important thing is that an attempt is being made to provide a response,” he said.“However, for us there are certain critical issues that should be resolved.”

Parolin continued, “One concern is that, at theinternational levelit should above all be the UN that manages these crisis situations.This is one of the points on which we have insisted.”

Pope Leo, the first U.S.pope, received an invitation to join the peace board in January.

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The Vatican declined to join a U.S.-backed board tasked with overseeing post-war efforts in Gaza.(Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)

Leaders from 17 countries participated in the initialcharter signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, in late January, including presidents and other senior government officials from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Central and Southeast Asia.

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Israel formally joined the boardlast week ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump at the White House.

Several othercountries were also invitedby the White House, including Russia, Belarus, France, Germany, Vietnam, Finland, Ukraine, Ireland, Greece and China.

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President Donald Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace will move forward without Vatican participation.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Poland and Italy on Wednesday said they would not join.

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Trump announced Sunday that board members havepledged more than $5 billionin aid for Gaza.

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The president said the funding would be formally pledged during a meeting Wednesday inWashington, D.C.

�s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.