A retired pastor who was prosecuted after preaching a sermon outside a hospital in Northern Ireland faces an anxious wait to find out the verdict in his case.
Pastor Clive Johnston had a court hearing on Wednesday - the original hearing was postponed from last December - after which the judge reserved judgment in his case until 7 May.
He was prosecuted in connection with an open-air sermon on John 3:16 that he preached within a 'safe access zone' outside Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital, in Northern Ireland, in 2024.
He was charged with attempting to 'influence' people seeking to access the hospital's abortion services despite the sermon being preached on a Sunday when the clinic was closed. He also did not mention abortion during his sermon, and he did not display any banners or placards on the topic.
An exchange with police officers captured on video showed them telling the pastor he should share the gospel in a "safe" place like the hospital chaplaincy and not inside the 'safe access zone'.
Pastor Johnston is being supported by The Christian Institute, which called his prosecution a “shocking” attack on freedom of speech and religion.
Following Wednesday's hearing at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court, Pastor Johnston said: “I’m glad the judge has decided to go away and have a think about this case before issuing his ruling because there is a lot at stake.
“We held a small, open-air Sunday service near a hospital. We made no reference whatsoever to the issue of abortion. And yet prosecutors say the buffer-zones law is so broad that holding our Sunday service was a criminal offence."
He added, “It’s a difficult thing to go through but we are upheld by the prayers of God’s people and we have drawn near to Christ for help and strength. Christ is the most precious thing in the world to us and that is why we are so keen to talk about him in the highways and byways of this land that we love.”
The case has caught the attention of the US State Department which last week called it "concerning" and said that it was “monitoring” developments.
A US spokesman told The Daily Telegraph: “The United States is still monitoring many buffer zone cases in the UK, as well as other acts of censorship throughout Europe.”
Referring to the case of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, the spokesman added: “The UK’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty, but also a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin US-UK relations.”
