U.K. Catholic priest responds to charges after praying outside abortion clinic

2 mins read
UK Priest
Father Sean Gough has been criminally charged for silently praying and holding a sign reading "praying for free speech" near an abortion clinic in England. ADF IK photos

A Catholic priest is speaking out after being criminally charged for silently praying and holding a sign reading “praying for free speech” near an abortion clinic in England, according to ADF UK, a faith-based legal advocacy group.

“I’m not a criminal,” Father Sean Gough, a 33-year-old priest of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, England, said in a new video shared by the ADF UK. “I’m a priest, I’m a son, I’m a friend, I’m someone who simply prays.”

The life issue, he revealed, is a personal one for him.

“My mum made a bold choice for life when I was a baby,” he said in the video. “I was conceived in the context of severe violence, and yet my mum fought hard for both of us. So many people thought that she should abort me — but by the grace of God, she didn’t.”

According to a Feb. 9 news release by ADF UK, police approached the priest after he stood in an area surrounding a Birmingham abortion clinic. The clinic falls under a local “public space protection order,” which prohibits five activities, including: protesting or engaging in any act of approval or disapproval related to abortion, including prayer; interfering with the clinic’s clients, visitors or staff; intimidating or harassing the clinic’s clients, visitors or staff; recording or photographing the clinic’s clients, visitors or staff; and displaying text or images related to abortion.

Fr. Gough

Father Gough faces a further charge for parking his car — with a bumper sticker reading “unborn lives matter” — within the same area, ADF UK said.

While police initially told him that he was in line with the rules, Father Gough was later asked to visit the police station, questioned and criminally charged, the group said. In particular, he was charged with “intimidating service-users” of the abortion clinic, even though it was closed at the time, according to ADF UK.

The Crown Prosecution Service later dropped the charges, but clarified that they could be reinstated, ADF UK said.

In the video, Father Gough adds that the police threatened him with arrest and interrogated him about his prayers.

“I pray wherever I go, inside my head, for the people around me. How can it be a crime for a priest to pray?” ADF UK quoted him as saying. “I often pray in my head near the abortion facility, but at the time in question, I was praying for free speech, which is under severe pressure in our country today.”

While there are several recent cases of citizens facing fines or criminal charges for praying near abortion clinics, ADF UK stressed that Father Gough’s case is the first where prayer about free speech, rather than abortion, led to criminalization.

Father Gough now intends to pursue a clear verdict on his charges in court, according to ADF UK.

“Father Sean is understandably seeking clarity as to the lawfulness of his actions,” Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF UK, commented in the release. “Though charges were dropped after several weeks due to ‘insufficient evidence,’ he has been warned that further evidence relating to the charges may soon be forthcoming, implying the entire grueling process could soon restart from the beginning.”

Father Gough, whose work as a priest includes supporting Rachel’s Vineyard, a ministry that offers hope and healing for those impacted by abortion, said that when he does pray for women impacted by abortion, he is not trying to express approval or disapproval.

“I’m simply trying to pray in my own head for God’s blessing upon them,” he urged in the video. “I have seen firsthand the devastating impacts of abortion trauma.”

Prayer, he said, is integral to him and his vocation.

“A really important part of my ministry as a priest — and indeed my whole life as a Christian — is praying for those around me,” he said in the video. “I never imagined that I would be criminalized for doing that.”

Katie Yoder is a contributing editor for Our Sunday Visitor.

Katie Yoder

Katie Yoder is a contributing editor for Our Sunday Visitor.