A retired pastor has been found guilty of breaching an abortion clinic 'safe access zone' after he preached a sermon on John 3:16.
Pastor Clive Johnston, 78, was found guilty by a district judge at a hearing at Coleraine Magistrates in Northern Ireland on Thursday.
He has been convicted of two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act after he held an open-air service on the fringes of the buffer zone outside Causeway Hospital in Coleraine in July 2024.
The grandfather of seven faces a criminal record and thousands of pounds in fines, according to The Christian Institute, which has been supporting his case.
Pastor Johnston, who is the former President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, is now weighing up his legal options and is expected to appeal.
Commenting on the verdict, he denied harassing anyone and called his conviction a “dark day for Christian freedom”.
“We held a small, open air Sunday service near a hospital. We made no reference whatsoever to the issue of abortion. 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," he said.
He continued: “If someone is out there causing trouble, stirring up violence, harassing or verbally attacking people, then, absolutely, go ahead and prosecute them. But I wasn’t doing any of those things as the police video shows and as everyone involved in this case accepts."
John 3:16 is one of the most beloved Bible verses, and states, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Speaking before Pastor Johnston's court hearing, Simon Calvert, Deputy Director of The Christian Institute, said that John 3:16 "is a wonderful, famous verse and everyone knows it says nothing about abortion".
He accused the police and Public Prosecution Service of "overstepping the mark" and said that preaching the Gospel should not be conflated with protesting against abortion.
“We have amazing freedom in this country to share the Christian message. That’s why we’ve taken on this case," he said.
"Prosecuting Pastor Johnston for preaching ‘God so loved the world’ near a hospital on a quiet Sunday is a shocking new attempt to restrict freedom of religion and freedom of speech in a part of the world where open air gospel services are a part of the culture.”
