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Pope declines invite to America’s 250th despite Vance's 'in-person' invite

Pope Leo XIV looks on as he leaves at the end of the weekly general audience, in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, February 18, 2026. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

Adam Lynch

February 20, 2026 | 06:59PM ET

Pope Leo XIV has officially dissed Catholic JD Vance’s formal invitation to the upcoming July 4th 250th festivities in the United States. Instead, the Pope, formerly of Chicago, will be celebrating that day “on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa — a migrant gateway in the Mediterranean,” reports Christopher Hale, who chronicles the Vatican’s doings with his “Letters from Leo” reports.

“… [B]ack in May 2025, JD Vance personally invited Pope Leo to take part in the anniversary celebrations. Many assumed Trump and Vance would welcome the first American pope with open arms during this historic jubilee. But Pope Leo never accepted the offer,” reports Hale, adding that the rejection came days after the Vatican also rejected an invitation to President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace.”

Worse, the Vatican quietly confirmed the pope has no plans to visit the United States at all in 2026.

“Instead, on the very day of America’s 250th, [the pope] will kneel on a rocky outcrop closer to Tunisia than to Washington, bearing witness to those dying in desperate search of freedom,” said Hale. “The contrast could not be sharper. President Trump envisions F-35 flyovers and fireworks in the capital’s sky; Pope Leo will stand under the same sun on Lampedusa, greeting strangers at the door.”

What to know about Trump's "Board of Peace" as world leaders meet in Davos

By
Sarah Lynch Baldwin,
Jennifer Jacobs,
Olivia Gazis, Sara Cook,
Kathryn Watson

January 21, 2026 / 2:24 PM EST / CBS News

President Trump's proposed "Board of Peace" is expected to be a focus of world leaders in Davos this week as questions linger over its composition and scope months after it was announced as part of the administration's peace plan for Gaza.

The White House released new details about the board's leadership last week, and the president has recently suggested that its work could extend beyond Gaza.

Now, the board's formation is facing headwinds from U.S. allies, as nations consider joining — or rejecting — the body.

Mr. Trump is expected to make an announcement on Thursday about a Board of Peace charter, according to his schedule in Davos. The White House had not officially released any information as of Wednesday about the charter or its contents.

Here's what to know.

Pope Leo Invited to Join Trump's 'Board of Peace', Cardinal Says

REUTERS
Pope Leo XIV greets a child during the weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, January 14, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi


VATICAN CITY, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Pope ‌Leo ​is among world leaders ‌invited to join U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board ​of Peace", Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's top diplomatic official, ‍said on Wednesday.

Leo, the first ​U.S. pope and a critic of some of ​Trump's ⁠policies, is evaluating the invitation, he said.

"The pope has received an invitation and we are considering what to do," 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, however Trump has said it will have a much broader remit and resolve conflicts globally.

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 Parolin's remarks.

Leo, who has shown a robust but quiet diplomatic style since being elected pope last May, has decried conditions for Palestinians living in Gaza several times, including in a forceful sermon on Christmas Eve.

The pope, leader of the world's ​1.4 billion Catholics, rarely joins international boards. The Vatican has an extensive diplomatic service and is a permanent observer at the United Nations, often taking part ​in debates.


(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Janet Lawrence)


Source

SDA Church in Harlem Invites Zohran Mamdani to Speak on Sabbath

SDA Church in Harlem Invites Zohran Mamdani to Speak on Sabbath

October 7, 2025 NewsHound

Timothy Nixon, pastor of the Ephesus SDA Church in Harlem allowed Zohran Mamdani to speak from their pulpit two Sabbaths ago.

A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani is the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election. He is also a Muslim.

Mamdani’s talk was essentially a campaign speech.

Everyone who is surprised, please raise your hand.

Source

Why Would a SDA Church Host a Controversial Woman Like Fani Willis?

Ukrainian President Zelensky invites Pope to Kyiv

By Simon Druker
MARCH 22, 2022 / 4:56 PM

RELATEDUkraine forces say they've retaken key Kyiv suburb; Biden warns of chemical weapons


March 22 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke Tuesday with Pope Francis, who offered to mediate with Russia to help end the invasion, as Italy's prime minister voice support of Ukraine's bid to join the European Union.

Zelensky addressed the Italian Parliament Tuesday and urged the country's lawmakers to freeze assets in that country owned by members of Russia's elite.

"You know very well who orders troops to go to war and who propagates this. Almost all of them use Italy as a place to rest. Do not be a resort for murderers," Zelensky said during the address.


RELATED

Following Zelensky's speech, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi publicly endorsed Ukraine's membership bid to join the European Union.

"Told His Holiness about the difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops. The mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering would be welcomed. He thanked for the prayers for Ukraine and peace," Zelensky tweeted, after his conversation with Pope Francis.

He also invited the pope to visit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
RELATEDEU approves security plan with rapid response force

On Sunday, Pope Francis escalated his condemnation of Russia while calling the invasion of Ukraine a "senseless massacre" in an address to visitors at St. Peter's Square.

"New visible gesture of support of (Ukraine) by Pope Francisco: just several min ago Holy Father called to Pres. Volod. Zelensky and had very promising talking. Pope said (Vatican) is praying & doing everything possible for end of war; (Zelensky) repeated that His Holiness is the most expected guest in (Ukraine)," tweeted Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican, Andrii Yurash, after Zelensky's phone conversation.

This comes a day after U.S. President Joe Biden announced Russia had used hypersonic missiles against Ukraine after being slowed by stiff Ukrainian resistance.
RELATEDLG Electronics suspends shipments to Russia

The accusation came after Pentagon officials said it was unclear whether Moscow had used hypersonic weaponry -- which travel at speeds of at least Mach 5 and are five times faster than the speed of sound and considerably faster than traditional missiles

Source

Pope Francis invited by Mayor of Kiev to visit the city

Taiwan invites pope to visit after landmark China-Vatican pact

NEWS /VATICAN

Holy See is Taiwan's last diplomatic ally in Europe; one of only 17 around the world.
12 hours ago


Taiwan has invited Pope Francis to visit the self-ruled island, just weeks after China and the Vatican reached a landmark agreement on the appointment of bishops on the mainland.

Taiwan's Vice President Chen Chien-jen met the pope on Sunday and invited him to visit, the president's office said in a statement. Chen added the pope said he would pray for Taiwan, but did not give a date for the proposed visit.

China claims Taiwan as its own and the island has diplomatic relations with only 17 countries around the world, mostly in Central America and the Pacific. The Vatican is Taiwan's last diplomatic ally in Europe.

WATCH: Panama cuts diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of China (2:07)

Last month's deal with China gives the Holy See a say over the appointment of bishops, although both sides have called the agreement "provisional".

Walla Walla University Invites A Jesuit To Address SDAs And Lead Worship

Signs of the End
On Jan 9, 2018

If you were alerted that a Jesuit priest was invited to a Seventh-day Adventist Institution of higher learning to address and lead out in worship, you would probably cry “fake news.” Sadly, that is exactly what Walla Walla Seventh-day Adventist University has done. In a program called CommUnity, that every student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree is required to participate in, Jesuit priest, Gregory Boyle is the scheduled speaker for January 9, 2018 at the university church. How can this be!

If the protest is not over and is to continue to the close of time, where are the people of God to protest? Have they forgotten what the Jesuits stand for, that their very existence is to destroy Protestantism and reestablish Papal supremacy using any means necessary? Wherever they go, whether overtly or covertly, they are working to accomplish those ends. Have they forgotten that Roman Catholicism is the enemy of religious freedom and a persecuting power that can never change? Have they forgotten our distinctive identity as Seventh-day Adventists or our peculiar messages, the Three Angels’ Messages? Have they forgotten what the protest is all about—protesting against Popery, Jesuitism and her iniquities and abominations! Oh how Jesus must be grieved! It is no different than in Nehemiah’s day, when the priest Eliashib prepared a chamber in the house of the Lord for Tobiah (Nehemiah 13:7), an avowed enemy of God and His people. The actions of Walla Walla University are not Seventh-day Adventist; but the leaders of the said institution are allowed to use the name Seventh-day Adventists and flaunt the logo all the while rebelling against God and the peculiar identity that He has given his Remnant people. If we are not lifting up our voices against this apostasy, we are complicit and may as well be in attendance at that assembly. “If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God.” White, Ellen. Testimonies for the Church, Volume 3 (1872-1875), page 280.

Notice how the organizers from Walla Walla University have spelt the word community, “CommUnity.” This says a lot; and based on the inviting of a Jesuit priest to speak at the University church, this CommUnity is all about ecumenism, uniting with Jesuits and others not of our faith upon common points of doctrine while laying aside distinctive doctrines. Let us understand just who Gregory J. Boyle is to get a better understanding of this CommUnity program. “The Rev. Gregory J. Boyle, S.J., is the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world. A native Angeleno, Father Boyle entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1972 and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1984. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and English from Gonzaga University, a master’s degree in English from Loyola Marymount University, a Master of Divinity degree from the Weston School of Theology, and a Master of Sacred Theology degree from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.”

Together 2016 - Invitation from Pope Francis