ROME (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said that Donald Trump’s international “Board of Peace” proposal for Gaza is a “colonialist operation” imposed from outside on the Palestinian people.
On February 7, during a public conversation at the Sanctuary of San Francesco a Ripa in Rome, Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, stated that the “Board of Peace” announced by Trump to oversee Gaza after the conflict in the region comes to an end represents “a colonialist operation” because it entrusts external actors with decisions about the future of Palestinians, a role he said does not belong to the Catholic Church.
“What do I think of the Board of Peace? I think it is a colonialist operation: others deciding for the Palestinians,” Pizzaballa said, according to Italian newspaper Il Giornale. “They asked us to take part. I don’t have a billion [dollars], but above all the task of the Church is not this. The Sacraments are about the dignity of the person.”
During the same meeting in Rome, Pizzaballa also reflected on the October 7 attacks and the subsequent war.
“It was clear that something was being prepared, but not something like that,” he said. Pizzaballa explained that he was in Italy at the time, visiting his mother, when the attacks occurred.
“I had prepared a statement, but I had not realized the situation. It was an ill-advised statement,” he said. “Then I understood, especially when I returned. I needed to bring things into focus.”
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According to the patriarch, the immediate aftermath was marked by intense anger and grief, as well as strong negative reactions from parts of the Jewish world toward what they perceived as a timid response from him and the Catholic Church. “There was great anger, pain, and a very negative reaction from the Jewish world to what they considered our timid response, but we had not understood,” Pizzaballa said.
He also commented on Israel’s military response in Gaza, describing it as unexpectedly violent in scale and duration. “It surprised us, because of the violence,” he said. “They thought it would be over before Christmas. Instead, little by little we understood that there was something truly new.”
The Board of Peace is an international body announced by President Trump and formally presented on January 22 during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Its stated purpose is to supervise the reconstruction and governance of the Gaza Strip after the conflict, in coordination with an already established Palestinian technical committee.
The initiative is not part of the United Nations system and presents itself as an independent structure with its own governing framework and permanent seats for participating countries. Participation in the Board of Peace requires significant financial commitments. Member states are asked to contribute $1 billion each.
The Vatican has been formally invited to take part in the Board of Peace. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin confirmed that Pope Leo XIV received an official invitation from Trump. Parolin stated that the Holy See is “carefully evaluating” the proposal, while also making clear that the Vatican cannot provide the financial contribution required of participating countries.
In parallel, internal Catholic opposition to participation has emerged. A group of priests and lay Catholics known as “Priests Against Genocide” publicly called on the Vatican to refuse the invitation, arguing that joining the Board of Peace would undermine the Holy See’s “evangelical credibility.”