The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, stated that the Holy See will not participate in the U.S. President Donald Trump’s Peace Council for Gaza.
He made the comments on the sidelines of a bilateral meeting with the Italian government at Palazzo Borromeo in Rome, as reported by Vatican News.
The Holy See noted that it “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States.”
When asked by journalists about Italy’s potential role as an observer in the Peace Council, Parolin replied that “there are aspects that somewhat perplex us,” adding that some critical points require clarification. He emphasized the importance of “attempts being made to provide a response.”
“However, for us there are certain critical issues that need to be addressed. One concern 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,” Parolin noted.
The Vatican Secretary of State also expressed concern regarding the war in Ukraine, a few days before the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict. This has been an anniversary that is also accompanied by heavy bombardments against energy infrastructure in Kyiv and in other cities.
"Regarding Ukraine," according to the Cardinal, “there is considerable pessimism. On both sides it does not seem to us that there are real advances regarding peace, and it is tragic that after four years, we still find ourselves at this point… One hopes that these dialogues may produce some progress, but it seems to me that there is not much hope and not many expectations.”
