On January 21, 2026, US President Donald Trump invited Pope Leo XIV to join a planned “peace council.” According to the article, leaders of several countries, including Israel, Egypt, and Belarus, have already joined the format. The Vatican has not yet issued a public response.
Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, was elected pontiff on May 8, 2026, after the death of Francis on April 21. He became the first pope born in the United States, having been born in Chicago in 1955. The article notes that his election came during Trump’s second presidential term.
Despite some overlap in positions, major differences remain between the Holy See and Washington. In the autumn, Leo XIV described Trump’s plan for Gaza’s reconstruction as “realistic,” but on other issues he signaled criticism. In early January, the pontiff called for respect for state sovereignty and human rights amid developments involving Venezuela.
As The Washington Post reported, Vatican representatives in December tried to persuade the United States to abandon a force-based scenario toward Nicolas Maduro. On January 9, Leo XIV told diplomats that stability in Venezuela would be possible only if external aggression stopped. At the same time, the article stresses that the Holy See does not support Maduro: the Vatican had earlier refused to recognize the 2018 election results, and on January 12 the pope met opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
Another line of conflict has been US migration policy. Leo XIV backed the position of American Catholic bishops against mass deportations without trial. He said it was unacceptable to expel people who had lived in the country for ten, fifteen, or twenty years, and that such actions involved violence.
“When people have lived normal lives for ten, fifteen, twenty years, to treat them this way is, to put it mildly, deeply disrespectful. And unfortunately, violence is involved.”
Politico wrote that on key priorities the current pontiff largely continues the line of Francis, including the defense of migrants, inclusion, and the social agenda. Against that backdrop, the article presents the invitation to the “peace council” as a new political test for the Vatican, which has so far paused before answering.