Freedom to think a good thought is now outlawed in England ! The thought police are invading not only the zones where private thoughts are prohibited but also outside the zone of their jurisdiction! Below the article on the charity volunteer arrested but below this article. I have posted another article where people were harassed outside the zone of no thoughts allowed! First Article.... BIRMINGHAM (20 December 2022) – A charity volunteer has been arrested and charged on four counts after she told the police she “might” be praying silently, when questioned as to why she was standing on a public street near an abortion facility. Police approached Isabel Vaughan-Spruce standing near the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham. Vaughan-Spruce was carrying no sign and remained completely silent until approached by officers. Police had received complaints from an onlooker who suspected that Vaughan-Spruce was praying silently in her mind. “It’s abhorrently wrong that I was searched, arrested, interrogated by police and charged simply for praying in the privacy of my own mind. Censorship zones purport to ban harassment, which is already illegal. Nobody should ever be subject to harassment. But what I did was the furthest thing from harmful – I was exercising my freedom of thought, my freedom of religion, inside the privacy of my own mind. Nobody should be criminalised for thinking and for praying, in a public space in the UK,” said Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, following her arrest for silent prayer. The censorship zone measure introduced by Birmingham authorities criminalises individuals percieved to be “engaging in any act of approval or disapproval or attempted act of approval or disapproval” in relation to abortion, including through “verbal or written means, prayer or counselling…”. A “thoughtcrime” in UK law? Vaughan-Spruce had stood near the abortion facility whilst it was closed on three occasions, in which she says she “might” have been praying. When shown pictures of herself outside the abortion facility by police, Vaughan-Spruce was questioned as to whether she was praying in the photos. She said she could not answer – some of the time she had spent praying, other times she had been distracted and thought about other things, such as her lunch. She maintains that both of these thoughts were equally peaceful and imperceptible and that neither should be criminalised. “Isabel’s experience should be deeply concerning to all those who believe that our hard-fought fundamental rights are worth protecting. It is truly astonishing that the law has granted local authorities such wide and unaccountable discretion, that now even thoughts deemed “wrong” can lead to a humiliating arrest and a criminal charge,” said Jeremiah Igunnubole, Legal Counsel for ADF UK, the legal organisation supporting Vaughan-Spruce. “A mature democracy should be able to differentiate between criminal conduct and the peaceful exercise of constitutionally protected rights. Isabel, a woman of good character, and who has tirelessly served her community by providing charitable assistance to vulnerable women and children, has been treated no better than a violent criminal. The recent increase in buffer zone legislation and orders is a watershed moment in our country. We must ask ourselves whether we are a genuinely democratic country committed to protecting the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of speech. We are at serious risk of mindlessly sleepwalking into a society that accepts, normalises, and even promotes the “tyranny of the majority,” he continued. As part of her conditions for bail, Vaughan-Spruce was told that she should not contact a local Catholic priest who was also involved in pro-life work – a condition that was later dropped. Police also imposed restrictions, as part of her bail, on Vaughan-Spruce engaging in public prayer beyond the PSPO area, stating that this was necessary to prevent further offences. Pro-Life Views under Pressure Vaughan-Spruce is the Director of the UK March for Life and has volunteered for many years in support of women in crisis pregnancies. “I have devoted much of my life to supporting women in crisis pregnancies with everything that they need to make an empowered choice for motherhood. I am also involved in supporting women who have had abortions and are struggling with the consequences of it. I’ve grown close to many of the women I’ve been able to support over the years, and it breaks my heart to know that so many more go through this every day,” explains Vaughan-Spruce. “My faith is a central part of who I am, so sometimes I’ll stand or walk near an abortion facility and pray about this issue. This is something I’ve done pretty much every week for around the last 20 years of my life. I pray for my friends who have experienced abortion, and for the women who are thinking about going through it themselves,” she continued. Her arrest follows another recent incident in Bournemouth where a woman was told to leave by local authorities for praying, even outside of the local censorship zone. Find out more. Last year, a grandmother from Liverpool successfully overturned her charge on human rights grounds after she was arrested and fined for praying silently near an abortion facility on a walk during lockdown. Find out more. Westminster weighs up nationalising censorship zones in light of human rights concerns In Westminster, parliamentarians are considering legislation to introduce censorship zones in England and Wales. Clause 9 of the Public Order Bill, currently under parliamentary debate, would prohibit pro-life volunteers from “influencing”, “advising”, “persuading”, “informing”, “occupying space” or even “expressing opinion” within the vicinity of an abortion facility. Those who breach the rules could face up to two years in prison. A 2018 government review into the work of pro-life volunteers outside of abortion facilities found that instances of harassment are rare, and police already have powers to prosecute individuals engaging in such activities. The most common activities of pro-life groups were found to be quiet or silent prayer, or offering leaflets about charitable support available to women who would like to consider alternative options to abortion. At 150m, the national censorship zones would be larger than a football pitch (115m). In the equivalent space, if one goalkeeper were to pray for the other goalkeeper – regardless of impact or noticeability – that would be an offence. The censorial provisions of the parliamentary bill drew substantive criticism from members of the House of Lords, including Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Beith, who deemed the clause “the most profound restriction on free speech I have ever seen in any UK legislation.” Lord Farmer called the clause “fundamentally flawed”, and asked, “When one walks past, one sees that vigils are often small groups of harmless, mainly female, pensioners. Why should they be banned and silenced?” The Clause has caused great controversy following a statement released from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State shortly after MPs voted to include it, admitting that the clause “could not be said to be compliant” with Convention rights as protected in the European Court of Human Rights. Baroness Claire Fox, who advocates for abortion, pointed out that “creating prohibitions on protest on an issue-by-issue basis is not an appropriate way to make law. It sets a precedent that will inevitably lead to attempts to prevent speech, expression, information sharing, assembly or the holding of protected beliefs around other sites or in relation to other controversial or unpopular causes.”
The second article related to those outside the zone of no thoughts allowed. BOURNEMOUTH (24 November 2022) – Local woman Livia Tossici-Bolt was praying quietly with a friend in a public space when she was warned by local authorities that their prayer could cause “intimidation, harassment or distress”, and was asked to move away. With support from ADF UK, Tossici-Bolt has subsequently filed a complaint against the authorities for breaching her freedom to pray on a public street. “Everyone has the freedom to pray quietly in a public place. I would never dream of doing something that causes intimidation and harassment. We complied with the new rules instituted by the council and didn’t pray within the censorship zone. Yet nevertheless, these prayer-patrol officers tried to intimidate us out of exercising our freedom of thought and of expression – in the form of prayer -which has been a foundational part of our society for generations,” commented Livia Tosici-Bolt. The warning came as parliamentarians raised concerns in Westminster this week that instituting censorship zones around abortion facilities across the country (in clause 9 of the Public Order Bill) could create a “slippery slope” of increasing censorship in UK legislation. “If we pass Clause 9, why will other institutions not demand buffer zones around their special case facilities? If we consider that in Clause 9 a buffer zone is defined very broadly as “150 metres from … any access point to any building or site that contains an abortion clinic”, does that not make protests of all sorts at hospitals potentially unlawful? What if you wanted to organise a vigil outside a hospital in which, for example, babies died due to negligence, such as in the maternity services scandal recently? What about a rally against the use of puberty blockers on teenagers? Would that be banned too?” said Baronness Claire Fox of Buckley in an address to the House of Lords on Tuesday. Penalties for Praying Tossici-Bolt was with a friend when she was approached and asked to move by two “Community Safety Accredited Officers”, employed by the local council to patrol a demarcated area of approximately 150m circumference outside of an abortion facility to detect activities including praying, crossing oneself, or offering support. The officers complained that the women were praying close to the edge of the so-called “censorship zone”. They said that they were concerned that their silent prayer would amount to “intimidation and harassment” to staff possibly passing by. The officer also noted concerns about the women’s proximity to a local school. “The children may ask questions,” noted the officer. Tosici-Bolt responded that there “is nothing wrong with asking questions.” “The principle of so-called “buffer zones” erodes the basic tenets of democracy – that is, in this country, we are allowed to hold different views and beliefs,” commented Lois McLatchie, communications officer for ADF UK. “We stand firmly against harassment of women. Police forces and local authorities already have a wealth of legislation to prevent and penalise harassment of women in any circumstance, let alone near an abortion facility. New ”censorship zones” go far further than is just or necessary – clamping down on civil liberties that allow volunteers to offer genuine help, or even just to pray, in a public space,” McLatchie continued. Five local councils that have implemented such “buffer zones” have prohibited prayer, and during legal proceedings, Ealing Council admitted that this included a ban on even silent prayer. Free speech campaigners such as Baroness Claire Fox have raised concerns that this amounts to a “thoughtcrime”. “In the case of Livia, we see clearly that once you prohibit the expression of a minority viewpoint in one public area, there is no logical stopping point. Livia and her friend were pressured by the authorities for praying on a public street that was not even within the so-called ‘buffer zone’. What’s now to prevent an embassy applying for a buffer zone to end the ‘distressing’ protest of dissidents, or town halls to decide to ban, for example, the rallies of gender-critical feminists in their vicinity, and go on to enforce these bans even beyond the already-vague limits of the law?”, said Jeremiah Igunnubole, Legal Counsel for ADF UK. Pressure builds against censorial “buffer zones” policies The complaint against such “prayer patrols” comes as parliament debates a national roll-out of “buffer zones” as seen in Bournemouth. Clause 9 of the Public Order Bill, currently under debate in Westminster, prohibits not only “harassment” outside of abortion facilities but “informing”, “advising”, “influencing”, “persuading” and even “expressing an opinion”. The censorial provisions drew substantive criticism from members of the House of Lords, including Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Beith, who deemed the clause “the most profound restriction on free speech I have ever seen in any UK legislation.” Lord Frost equally noted that, “I don’t think it can be right for this Parliament to make it illegal for example to ‘seek to influence’…‘persistently occupy’…or ‘inform or attempt to inform’ …And that is true whether it is in the vicinity of an abortion clinic or anywhere else”. Former Police Ombudsman Baroness O’Loan was also highly critical of the buffer zone clause in the Bill, saying, “A blanket ban around abortion clinics my Lords would be disproportionate, it would be a denial of the right to the freedom of expression, it is unnecessary and it could even be harmful.” The Clause has caused great controversy following a statement released from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State shortly after MPs voted to include it, admitting that the clause “could not be said to be compliant” with Convention rights as protected in the European Court of Human Rights.
It is even worse that I thought -- And specifically Anti - Catholic English Town Outlaws Sign of the Cross and Praying in Public in Abortion ‘Safe Zone’ The legal means by which the “zone” is created — came into force on Oct. 13. It shall remain in place for three years, during which it forbids a number of behaviors from Monday to Friday between 7am and 7pm, namely, “vigils where members audibly pray, recite Scripture, genuflect, sprinkle holy water on the ground or cross themselves if they perceive a service-user is passing by.” https://www.ncregister.com/news/eng...s-and-praying-in-public-in-abortion-safe-zone
Scotland’s top lawyer claims silent prayer outside abortion clinics ‘may damage women’ https://www.christian.org.uk/news/s...er-outside-abortion-clinics-may-damage-women/
Online petition for charges to be dropped against Isabel Vaughan-Spruce for silent prayer https://citizengo.org/en-gb/rf/2097...edium=social&utm_campaign=&utm_content=typage
As part of her bail conditions (Isabel Vaughan- Spruce), restrictions have been placed on her participating in public prayer. Another requirement of her bail, later dropped, banned her from contacting a local priest involved in pro-life work. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/...-prayer-in-buffer-zone-near-abortion-facility
Shaking my head. What in tarnation terrifies the pro-aborts about SILENT prayer ---unless they know the power of it more than the average Catholic and fear it will snatch away a potential victim.
Reading through this my mind came to Pilate in the Praetorium with Jesus in front of him Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—I to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” Pilates question is still before us. But now the world including these governments only have their subjective truths- their version. They ignore that their is objective truths - the truth Jesus Christ continues to bear witness to. And the ironic part is that these governments are hypocrites because they actual do have an objective truth… that they have decided upon. And like Jesus, we who stand as Christians of today also bearing witness to the truth will be condemned and crucified. But we are in good company…. Following many saints and of course the apostles and our Lord Himself. Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the wayand the truth and the life. No one comes tothe Father except through Me.
Let us never take our Faith for granted! "Who are we Lord, that you have touched our hearts and revealed your Love to us in such a way that each of us can say, "I know Him whom I love -the King of kings, yet Servant unto death for my sake! May You always hold first place in my heart! May you be praised in your birth, life and death, resurrection, and glorious Return!"
The US Constitution is such a God given Blessing, especially the 1st Amendment. Here in British occupied Ireland we have no Constitution. The British call is an, 'Unwritten Constitution', which means it does not exist. No wonder the American Colonists took to the hills with their guns in hand.
Padraig - I am of the opinion that Ireland unfree means free from the shackles of British control and also European imperialism -- For me Sinn Fein have become European Unionists - I know that the way the world is going these things are not priority. We are staring down the barrels of disaster - I am not sure if I ever will live long enough to see an Ireland envisaged by the men of 1916.
When they lost God they lost everything. When I saw Michelle Gildernew and Mari Lou jumping up and down laughing because Abortion had been introduced in Ireland I knew we had entered Hell. The only Freedom that really matters is the Freedom to do the Will of God. Following God's Will is all that matters. All else is illusion, evil illusion.
Have you been following the Great North American Storm? Talk about a Sign of the Times; it is simply astonishing. One for the History Books. Prophecy brought to life:
It is a prophetic storm for sure. No part of the country escaped and the suffering continues because of power outages and trees down etc and fierce biting cold. Even in the South. The Florida orange crop may be done for.
Every time I hear of an event that either never happened before or is called , 'Historic', I think of the Tribulation. I was thinking of the Internet the other day. I recall it kicking of as I do the Smart Phone. No one had the least idea where such things would take us; how they would change the world forever. Who knows what things are in the pipe line? Artificial Intelligence is one such thing. Yet we have no idea how to control such things. We need God's help more than ever to save us from destruction. Yet how many of the people believe ,even in a notion, of God?
