Retired pastor Clive Johnston, 78, has been convicted and fined for preaching a Bible verse near a hospital in Northern Ireland.
A 78-year-old retired pastor has been convicted and fined for preaching the gospel near a hospital in Northern Ireland.
“In general, I’m very saddened by this decision,” Clive Johnston told Fox News Digital.
“When I was 78 years old, I never thought that I would come out of court guilty of preaching the Christian gospel.” But beyond my personal influence, what worries me the most is what this means for the state of basic freedom in our nation.”
On 7 May, District Judge Peter King at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court sentenced Johnston for breaching a “safe access zone” outside Causeway Hospital in Coleraine on July 7, 2024.
Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services Act (Safe Access Zones) Act prohibits “influencing,” “preventing or obstructing access,” or “causing harassment, alarm or distress” to a protected person within 100 meters (about 328 feet) of an abortion facility.
Johnston was found guilty of “influencing” inside a protected area and fined 450 pounds, or about $614 in US dollars.
He may be the first to be prosecuted under the law for preaching a sermon that did not mention abortion, according to the Christian Institute, a religious advocacy group, which supported his case.
Johnston warned that the conviction of a man for publicly preaching one of the most well-known parts of the Bible sets a worrying precedent for freedom of religion and freedom of speech in the United Kingdom.
“It pretty much defines peaceful Christian witness as a form of illegal ‘influence,'” he told Fox News Digital. If just reading the Bible, praying, and preaching about God’s love can now be considered harmful because someone might hear it somewhere, then we have crossed a serious line.”
“John 3:16 is one of the most famous and hopeful verses in the Bible—a message about God’s love and salvation.” If even that can be impeached because of where it is spoken, then can any public expression of Christian beliefs really be immune from being banned? he asked.
Johnston is not the only Christian who has been persecuted under the same buffer zone laws. Scottish grandmother Rose Docherty was jailed twice for holding a speech about the sign in a protected area before the charges were dropped.
Some in the UK have been charged and fined for praying silently in these places.
Johnston said the law is too broad and puts Christians at risk of being exploited by the government.
“When the state claims that it has the authority to decide that the preaching of the Bible in peace is an unacceptable ‘influence’, in some places, the place for Christians to live freely and share their faith in public life, the risks become very small,” he continued. “And we can go beyond faith-related concerns – if an act that doesn’t address abortion is criminalized, what other acts are within reach of this law?”
Body camera footage of the July 2024 incident shows a police officer approaching Johnston while he was preaching on the side of the road, warning him that he was in a clearly marked safe area and that he could not film or preach in the area.
“You may say to yourself, for the goodness of my heart, ‘I am coming here to preach the word of God,'” said a police officer at one point. “However, if you are negligent, in terms of the impact you may have on patients, staff or any protected person, you may be committing an offence.”
The officer suggested that Johnston go inside the chaplaincy area of the hospital if he wanted a “safe place” to provide “religious guidance or comfort or help.”
“But while you are here in a safe access area, any action in that area that would prevent any protected person from using the services, harass or cause them distress, is a crime,” added the police officer.
Johnston is currently considering an appeal.
“The whole point of preaching in a sanctuary was to counter the negative influence these places have on evangelism,” he told Fox News Digital. “My encouragement to my fellow Christians is not to give in to fear or despair. We have good news to share. We must continue to respond with kindness, peace, and courage—never with anger or hatred, but with strong conviction.”
Christian Institute director Ciarán Kelly has warned of “creepy censorship” in the UK.
“If the decision stands it will represent an alarming new limit to freedom of religion and freedom of expression so we will be helping Clive consider his appeal,” Kelly said in a statement.
Before Johnston’s trial in April, the US State Department said it was monitoring Johnston’s case.
“The United States continues to monitor many ‘buffer zone’ cases in the UK, as well as other human trafficking activities across Europe,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Monday. “The UK’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only a serious violation of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but also a departure from the shared principles that should underpin the US-UK relationship.”
The Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service told Fox News Digital, “The defendant was found guilty and convicted by the court of committing an act in a safe place with intent or negligence to have the effect of influencing a protected person to go to the premises; and failing to comply with a direction to leave a safe place of access.”
The office also issued a court order explaining that it said Johnston’s actions were “criminal” under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act.
