Throughout our years of ministry, we’ve always talked about our mission to keep the doors open for the gospel. Not until this year had we imagined that that mission would become so literal. The church and its leaders face challenges that we have not seen in many years – and they are taking us back to the darker moments of European history.
Father Sean Gough, Canon Tom White, missionary David Byle, Bishop Juhana Pohjola, Pastor Tonchev, and Father David Palmer each have a unique calling. Each live in very different countries and circumstances. They’ve never met.
But they do all have one thing in common: they are faith leaders who have been forbidden to speak about or practise their faith in public. This year, more than ever, the threat to free speech has arrived at the Church’s front door. Now is the time to stand together.
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David ByleISTANBUL
Pastor TonchevPastor Kiryakov BOURGAS
Father David PalmerNOTTINGHAM
When Father David Palmer’s tweets about life from conception came to light, the University of Nottingham to which he had been nominated as student chaplain rejected him. Thankfully, with support from our team and the Free Speech Union, we were able to see that decision reversed.
Father Sean GoughBIRMINGHAM
Father Sean Gough, a Catholic priest, won a legal battle after he was charged for breaching a censorship zone by silently praying, in addition to holding a sign with the words “praying for free speech,” near a closed abortion facility in Birmingham.
From local courts all the way to the highest international institutions, together we can keep the doors open for the gospel. Your generosity enabled us to support Father Sean, Canon Tom, David Byle, Bishop Pohjola, Pastor Tonchev, and Father Palmer. Together we can protect the fundamental freedoms of many more to help all people access the much-needed message of hope. Thank you for standing with us.
From local courts all the way to the highest international institutions, together we can keep the doors open for the gospel. Your generosity enabled us to support Canon Tom, David Byle, Bishop Pohjola, Pastor Tonchev and Father Palmer. Together we can protect the fundamental freedoms of many more to help all people access the much-needed message of hope. Thank you for standing with us.
209 international and Nigerian human rights advocates call for the immediate release of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu.
German hybrid school—innovative in-class and at home learning model—takes challenge to European Court of Human Rights after accreditation denied
ADF International files case on behalf of Rachel Zalma* before Europe’s top human rights court after she was unlawfully banned from living in Türkiye.
ADF International released a video thanking members of the European Parliament for their support of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu in a near-unanimous urgency resolution.
In an urgency resolution the European Parliament has called for the release of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a young Nigerian musician sentenced to death under the blasphemy law of Kano state, northern Nigeria. The resolution “recalls that blasphemy laws are in clear breach calls of international human” and “contrary to the Nigerian Constitution which guarantees religious freedom and freedom of expression.
ADF International has joined 70 other international religious groups and leading experts in sending a letter to the Biden Administration urging relevant officials to address the persecution endured by religious minority groups in Vietnam.
