Catholic priest receives guilty verdict for environment protests

Blocking traffic at Dover

Passionist priest Fr Martin Newell, 55, and Ben Buse, a Christian from Bristol, were among a group of nine environmental protesters found guilty on a charge of 'Public Nuisance' at a trial at Hove Crown Court last Friday. The nine were part of the Insulate Britain 2021 campaign of nonviolent civil resistance undertaken to demand the UK government insulate Britain's cold and leaky homes.

The defendants were found guilty by a jury, on a majority verdict of 10-2. on a charge of 'Public Nuisance'. In September 2021 they blocked a road at Dover Port bringing traffic to a standstill for over two hours.

This was the fifteenth Insulate Britain jury trial, a number of which have resulted in 'not guilty' verdicts by juries.

Sentencing will be on June 14th. Defendants in similar cases recently have had a range of sentences including substantial court costs, community service orders and suspended sentences. After saying they planned to do the same again, some were given immediate custodial sentences of a few weeks.

Fr Martin said: "Christians are called to live by the law of God's Kingdom above all, and God's laws at times lead us into conflict with human laws. The human court has decided we are 'guilty', but in the Kingdom of God there is a higher court. Pope Francis calls us to hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. I took part in Insulate Britain in an attempt to take that call seriously. Pope Francis said in Laudato Si that our common home which is the earth is among the most abused and neglected of our neighbours. I live and work with refugees and asylum seekers. So I am acutely aware of the increasing impact of extreme weather resulting from climate change, such as the floods in Congo that recently killed over 400 people from one region. Increasing inequality and fuel poverty within the UK is also a moral scandal that cries to heaven. The Gospel call to hear these urgent cries is what impelled me to take part in the Insulate Britain campaign."

Ben Buse said: "Science documents our warming world and the increases in extreme weather, as well as it's unequal impacts. Christian Aid have reported the devastation already happening. It is a justice issue, a refugee issue, a biodiversity issue. Action is required at all levels. Dover Port was an iconic place to call for government action in the run up to COP 26 in Glasgow. 9,500 people also die of cold, uninsulated homes each winter in the UK. Christian faith requires us to tackle problems at the root. We need structural change, laying the foundations for a just, equitable and sustainable future. A future where creation can heal and be restored, anticipating the the time when all will be righted."

The group point out that the trial comes after a series of unprecedented floods, droughts and heat waves have wreaked havoc across the globe, some of which "would be almost impossible without climate change" according to the ;World Weather Attribution initiative' and the UN IPCC report in March warned that only swift and drastic action can avert irrevocable damage.

LINKS

Insulate Britain: https://insulatebritain.com/

CAFOD director on new climate report: 'Its now or never': www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44414