Vatican Explains Why It Won't Join Trump's Board of Peace

The Vatican won't take a seat at President Trump's new foreign-policy table. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See's top diplomat, said Tuesday that the Vatican will not accept Trump's invite to join his "Board of Peace," which is set to hold its first meeting in Washington on Thursday—and he elaborated as to why.

Trump initially envisioned the group overseeing Gaza's interim governance; he later proposed expanding it to address conflicts worldwide. "One concern," Parolin said, per Reuters, "is that at the international level it should above all be the UN that manages these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have insisted."

While the Hill reports more than 20 countries have signed on, including some Middle Eastern allies of Washington, key Western partners have not. Mexico News Daily reports Mexico has declined Trump's invitation. Italy and the EU will have reps attend the Washington meeting as observers only, per Reuters.