Vatican not to attend Board of Peace meeting

The Vatican will not participate in US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” initiative, Reuters writes, citing Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s top diplomatic official.

Parolin stated that efforts to handle crisis situations should be managed by the United Nations.

Pope Leo, the first US pope and a critic of some of Trump’s policies, was invited to join the board in January.

The Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States,” Parolin said.

Under Trump’s Gaza plan that led to a fragile ceasefire in October, the board was meant to supervise Gaza’s temporary governance. Trump thereafter said the board, with him as chair, would be expanded to tackle global conflicts. The board will hold its first meeting in Washington on Thursday to discuss Gaza’s reconstruction.