Clive Johnston, a 78-year-old retired pastor, was convicted and fined for preaching the gospel inside a “safe access zone” near a hospital in Ireland two years ago.
A law known as Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services (or Safe Access Zones) Act prohibits “influencing,” “preventing or impeding access,” or “causing harassment, alarm or distress” to a “protected person” within 100 meters, or approximately 330 feet, of abortion clinics.
Although Johnston did not mention abortion or the act, he read aloud John 3:16, which the court determined constituted unlawful “influence” within a safe access zone.
“It effectively redefines peaceful Christian witness as a form of unlawful ‘influence,’” he told Fox News Digital about the outcome.
“John 3:16 is one of the most well-known and hope-filled verses in the Bible – a message about God’s love and salvation. If even that can be criminalized because of where it is spoken, then how can any public expression of Christian belief be truly safe from restriction?” he asked.
District Judge Peter King convicted Johnston on May 7 “of doing an act in a safe access zone with the intent of, or being reckless as to whether it has the effect of influencing a protected person attending the premises; and failing to comply with a direction to leave a safe access zone,” The New York Post reported.
After receiving the verdict, Johnston said, “It was a very dark day for Christian freedom.”
“Once the state claims the authority to decide that peaceful biblical preaching is an unacceptable ‘influence’ in some places, the space for Christians to live out and share their faith in public life risks becoming increasingly narrow,” Johnston added.
Critics of the decision pointed to what they say is a double standard in Ireland, where individuals convicted of violent crimes are reportedly being released while a pastor faces penalties for preaching.
“Do you see the double standard? Islamist rapes a girl and is set free. Pastor preaches from the Bible and he’s put in jail,” American pastor Virgil Walker posted on X.
Johnston is considering appealing his conviction. The story unfolds amid broader debate over the suppression of free speech across Europe.
