{"id":240521,"date":"2021-02-23T07:44:09","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T13:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=240521"},"modified":"2021-02-22T18:20:41","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T00:20:41","slug":"twitter-bars-irish-bishop-anti-assisted-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/twitter-bars-irish-bishop-anti-assisted-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"Twitter reportedly bars Irish bishop from account after anti-assisted suicide post"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bishop Kevin Doran of the Diocese of Elphin, Ireland, recently ran afoul of Twitter while speaking out against an assisted suicide bill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dying with Dignity bill currently before the Irish legislature very loosely defines terminal illness as one in which \u201cthe person is likely to die as a result of that illness or complications relating thereto.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like many other religious leaders around the world, Bishop Doran has used his social media presence to amplify his message. Regarding the assisted suicide measure, <\/span>he recently tweeted<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThere is dignity in dying. As a priest, I am privileged to witness it often. Assisted suicide, where it is practiced, is not an expression of freedom or dignity, but of the failure of a society to accompany people \u2018on their way of the cross\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Catholic Church opposes assisted suicide, and the Irish Bishops\u2019 Council for Life and Consultative Group on Bioethics has warned that the bill \u201cruns radically counter to the common good.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But not too long after this message, David Quinn of the Iona Institute shared a screenshot from the Bishop\u2019s account showing his tweet had been removed for \u201cpromoting or encouraging suicide or self-harm.\u201d When the decision was appealed \u2014 because the bishop’s post was actually promoting the opposite<\/em> \u2014 Twitter apparently doubled down. Although Bishop Doran\u2019s account was not taken down, it is unclear at this time whether he is able to post.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bishop @KevinElphin<\/a> has been barred from Tweeting. Incredibly, @Twitter<\/a> say he violated their rules by "promoting or encouraging suicide or self-harm" when he was actually tweeting AGAINST assisted suicide. They turned him down again on appeal. pic.twitter.com\/Q4RQuzsPsH<\/a><\/p>\n

— David Quinn (@DavQuinn) February 20, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n