{"id":285118,"date":"2023-02-11T11:29:14","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T17:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=285118"},"modified":"2023-02-16T13:35:04","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T19:35:04","slug":"priest-arrested-silently-praying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/priest-arrested-silently-praying\/","title":{"rendered":"Charges dropped against Catholic priest for praying silently near abortion facility"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Update 2\/16\/23<\/strong>: The charges against Catholic priest Father Sean Gough for praying silently near an abortion facility have been dropped<\/a>. He had been charged with “intimidating service-users” of the abortion business, despite the clinic being closed at the time that he stood outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pleased that I\u2019ve been cleared of all charges today and to have cleared my name. I stand by my beliefs \u2013 unborn lives do matter. But whatever your views are on abortion, we can all agree that a democratic country cannot be in the business of prosecuting thought crimes,” said Father Gough.\u00a0\u201cI call on the government to look into the overwhelming positive work that pro-life groups do to support vulnerable women at their point of need, before censoring the streets of the UK and allowing good people to be criminalised for acts of love.”<\/p>\n

Prosecutor Ekene Pruce said the charges were dropped because the case did not meet the “full code test,” which is an assessment of whether the prosecution is in the public interest and if there is enough evidence to realistically seek a conviction.<\/p>\n

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Fr Sean Gough found not guilty speaking on the steps of Birmingham Magistrates Court. pic.twitter.com\/KWkeOSd14i<\/a><\/p>\n

— March4LifeUK (@March4LifeUK) February 16, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n