Pope Leo XIV declines Trump's invitation to join ‘Board of Peace'

Pope Leo XIV has declined the United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the newly constituted “Board of Peace” citing “a number of concerns” about the initiative.

The head of the Catholic Church insisted that the United Nations (U.N.) should solve global crises.

Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said: “For us there are … some critical issues that should be resolved,” adding, “One of the points we have insisted on is that it should be the UN, above all, that manages the crisis at the international level.”

The Pope’s refusal comes just days before the scheduled inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace to discuss the reconstruction efforts in the war-torn Gaza region. The board is set to meet on Thursday, February 19, 2026.

Pope Leo received the invitation to join the board in January. Cardinal Parolin, at that time, said that the Vatican was looking into it. He said, “The Vatican will not participate financially as we are not in a position to do so.”

However, the Pope has now formally declined the invitation.

U.S. President Trump has invited several world leaders to join the Board of Peace, including Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.