VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The Holy See is weighing how to respond to the Trump administration’s invitation to join the Board of Peace, an initiative originally aimed at rebuilding Gaza that President Donald Trump now hopes to expand into a broader peacemaking coalition.
“We have also received this invitation, and the pope has seen it, and we are deciding what to do,” the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told journalists on Wednesday (Jan. 21). “I think it’s a matter that needs some time to be considered in order to give an answer,” he added, saying there were concerns for the respect of the international rule of law.
The organization, which some have suggested could serve as a substitute for the United Nations Security Council as the United States shifts away from participation in multilateral entities, will accept members for a three-year term, but countries that contribute $1 billion may join as permanent members.
“We won’t participate from an economic perspective; we are not capable of doing that,” Parolin said after meeting with students at the Observatory for Independent Thinking in Rome.
Trump currently serves as the chairman of the board and is a member for life, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly accepted an invitati …