“This is a dark day for Christian freedom.”
By Catholics for Catholics
Preaching in the United Kingdom could get you in trouble.
A judge in the U.K. found guilty a Christian pastor on Thursday for preaching and quoting about one of the Bible’s most famous verses outside of a hospital that carries out abortions.
Judge Peter King fined Pastor Clive Johnston with over $600 for preaching on John 3:16 inside a so-called “Safe Access Zone” outside the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, according to a story by the Daily Wire. Northern Ireland’s “Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act” sets up safeguard zones outside facilities where abortions are done, limiting protests, sidewalk counseling, or other pro-life endeavors.
Pastor Johnston was indicted after holding an open-air Sunday service outside the Causeway Hospital on July 7, 2024; he did not speak about abortion during the service. Prosecutors accused him of trying to influence a “protected person” or “recklessly” behaving in a way that could influence a person.
“This is a dark day for Christian freedom,” Johnston said after the conviction. “And yet the buffer zones law is so broad that holding a Sunday service has been found to be a criminal offence. And at 78 years of age, I find myself, for the first time, convicted of a crime.”
🚨NEW: Judge to rule on Clive Johnston’s case TOMORROW. 🇬🇧
— Lois McLatchie Miller (@LoisMcLatch) May 6, 2026
The 78-year-old pastor was tried for sharing the gospel near a hospital where a “buffer zone” is in place.
He didn’t mention abortion, yet is accused of “influencing” decisions on the matter pic.twitter.com/JyXrrA0DBf
“I know it was an unusual place to hold an open-air service but that was the point: There shouldn’t be any public spaces in Northern Ireland where you can be prosecuted and convicted simply for preaching the gospel,” he added.
According to The Wire, video footage taken during the open-air service shows a police officer cautioning Johnston that he may only share the gospel in a ‘safe’ chaplaincy room inside the hospital.
“However, if you are reckless as to the effect that they could have on patients, staff, or any protected person, then you may be committing an offense,” the officer said.
“But while you’re out here in the safe access zone, any act in that area, which may” dissuade a “protected person” from using a “service” could be an offense, the officer said.
The Christian Institute, a U.K.-based organization devoted to “upholding the truths of the Bible,” supported Johnston. Ciarán Kelly, the organization’s director, said they would help Johnston look at appealing the ruling.
“Despite assurances to the contrary when this legislation was being considered, we now see that an already controversial and deeply unjust law has now been selectively applied to criminalize gospel preaching,” Kelly said. “If the ruling stands it will represent a shocking new restriction on freedom of religion and freedom of speech so we will be helping Clive to consider the options for appeal.”
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