Retired pastor Clive Johnston is to appeal his conviction for preaching the Gospel within one of Northern Ireland’s controversial abortion censorship zones.
The former President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, who is being supported by The Christian Institute, was convicted of two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act for holding an open-air service on the fringes of a buffer zone opposite Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital last year.
His sermon made no reference to abortion, nor were there any abortion placards or banners – a fact accepted by both sides and the judge in court. Yet, Mr Johnston was found guilty of being “reckless” as to whether his actions of preaching and standing near a large cross might ‘influence’ someone accessing the hospital’s abortion services.
This is the first UK buffer zone case in which a person has been criminalised for preaching a sermon that did not mention abortion.
‘Criminalised’
Speaking after confirming his intention to appeal, Mr Johnston said: “This ruling sets a deeply troubling precedent. I was not protesting abortion. I was peacefully preaching the Gospel, reading from the Bible, and pointing people to the hope found in Jesus Christ.
“If this conviction is allowed to stand, it will signal that basic Christian witness and public expressions of faith can be criminalised simply because they take place in the wrong location.
“That should concern every person who values freedom of religion and freedom of expression, regardless of their views on abortion.”
Mr Johnston’s legal team will argue that the conviction represents a disproportionate interference with fundamental rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights and codified into UK law under the Human Rights Act, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of peaceful assembly.
State interference
Institute Deputy Director Simon Calvert said: “This case was never about harassment or intimidation – nobody has alleged Clive Johnston engaged in anything close to this form of behaviour.
“It is about whether the state can criminalise the peaceful expression of Christian faith in a public place”.
“The implications of this dangerous ruling reach far beyond one individual pastor in Northern Ireland. If public authorities can prosecute someone for reading the Bible and preaching on God’s love, then fundamental freedoms are at risk.”
Support
Mr Johnston has received widespread support in the face of the restrictions against his freedom of religion and freedom of speech.
Following the judgment on 7 May, Franklin Graham commented: “Pastor Johnston didn’t even mention abortion; he just preached the Gospel in a public space. I hope his legal team at @ChristianOrgUK will have success in appealing this. Religious freedoms are being threatened not only in the UK, but here in the US, Canada, and around the world.”
Meanwhile in the UK, former MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “It is extraordinary that in a Christian country the police think it is an offence to preach the word of God outside a hospital.”
Ulster MP Carla Lockhart marked the ruling against Johnston as “a very sad day for Northern Ireland”.
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