Vatican weighing Trump invitation to join Gaza ‘Board of Peace’

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state. | Credit: Vatican Media

Jan 21, 2026 / 13:03 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has received an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to participate in a proposed “Board of Peace” focused on Gaza and is currently evaluating how to respond, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Wednesday.

“We too have received the invitation to the Board of Peace for Gaza. The pope has received it and we are seeing what to do; we are looking into it in depth,” Parolin told reporters on Jan. 21, according to the official Vatican News outlet. “I think it is an issue that requires a bit of time to give an answer.”

The cardinal said Trump is “requesting the participation of various countries” and noted that, based on what he had read in the press, “Italy is also reflecting on whether to join or not.”

According to the report, the initiative aims to establish a Board of Peace to address global conflicts, with particular attention to the war in Gaza, as an entity independent of the United Nations. Participating countries would be asked to make a financial contribution that would grant them a permanent seat.

Several states have publicly announced their participation, including Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Egypt, and Israel, the report said.

Parolin ruled out a Vatican financial contribution and said the Holy See would be in a different position than other states.

“We are not even in a position to do that,” he said. “However, evidently we find ourselves in a different situation with respect to other countries, so it will be a different consideration, but I think the request will not be to participate financially.”

Asked about tensions between the United States and Europe, Parolin said “tensions are not healthy” and “create a climate that worsens the international situation, which is already serious.”

“I think what is important would be to eliminate tensions, discuss the points that are controversial, but without entering into polemics or generating tensions,” he said.

Parolin also underscored the importance of “respecting international law” when asked about remarks made by Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the U.S. president expressed a strong desire to acquire Greenland, according to the report.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.