Pope Leo is among world leaders invited to join US president Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s top diplomatic official, said on Wednesday.
Leo, the first US pope and a critic of some of Mr Trump’s policies, is evaluating the invitation, he said.
“The pope has received an invitation and we are considering what to do,” Mr Parolin told journalists. “I believe it will be something that requires a bit of time for consideration before giving a response.”
The board was initially aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza.
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However, the Trump administration’s ambitions have grown into a more sprawling concept, with Mr Trump extending invitations to dozens of nations and hinting it will soon broker global conflicts, in the manner of a pseudo-UN security council.
While some countries, such as Israel and Egypt, have accepted the invitation, a number of others have expressed caution with diplomats warning it could harm the work of the United Nations.
The Vatican press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Mr Parolin’s remarks.
Ireland has been invited to take part in Mr Trump’s proposed board but will have to give the proposal “careful consideration”.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said on Monday the US president’s plan for postwar Gaza had been discussed at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Sunday.
Earlier, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he agreed to join the board, after his office earlier criticised the make-up of the board’s executive committee.
The committee includes Turkey, a regional rival.
A statement from Mr Netanyahu’s office said he had accepted Mr Trump’s invitation.
The board’s charter has not yet been made public, but a draft version obtained by the Associated Press indicates much of the power will be concentrated in the hands of Mr Trump himself.
A €1 billion contribution secures permanent membership, the draft said.
So far, at least eight countries – Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Argentina and Belarus – have agreed to take part.
Invitation letters from Mr Trump also have been sent to Paraguay’s leader Santiago Pena, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Russia, Israel, India, Slovenia, Thailand and the European Union’s executive arm have said they received invitations.
The Kremlin is now “studying the details” and will seek clarity of “all the nuances” in contacts with the US, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Mr Trump confirmed on Monday night that Russian president Vladimir Putin had been invited.
It was not immediately clear how many or which other leaders would receive invitations.
The executive board’s members include US secretary of state Marco Rubio, Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British prime minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management chief executive Marc Rowan, World Bank president Ajay Banga, and Mr Trump’s deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.
The White House also announced the members of another board, the Gaza Executive Board, which, according to the ceasefire, will be in charge of implementing the tough second phase of the agreement.
That includes deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and rebuilding the war-devastated territory.
Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and UN Middle East envoy, is to serve as the Gaza executive board’s representative overseeing day-to-day matters.
Additional members include: Mr Witkoff, Mr Kushner, Mr Blair, Mr Rowan, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan; Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi; Hassan Rashad, director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Agency; Emirati minister Reem Al-Hashimy; Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; and Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister and a Middle East expert.
The board also will supervise a newly appointed committee of Palestinian technocrats who will be running Gaza’s day-to-day affairs. – AP/Reuters
