(LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic priest in the U.K. has made headlines after asking the police to arrest him whilst he participated in a protest supporting the recently designated terrorist group “Palestine Action.”
“I set out from my parish determined to get arrested at the demonstration in Parliament Square. I was nervous, with butterflies in my stomach, but I knew I would do it.”
Such was the first-hand account of Father John McGowan, a Catholic priest and member of the Carmelites based in the Diocese of Northampton, U.K.
Over the past weekend, protesters descended upon London and the Houses of Parliament to show their support for Palestine, and condemning “genocide” which they said Israel was carrying out in Palestine.
More specifically, many in the city were demonstrating in support of a group named “Palestine Action,” (PA) which vocally opposes the Israeli government and advocates in support of a Palestinian state.
After the group broke into a Royal Air Force base in June and vandalized military aircraft, Members of Parliament voted to designate PA as a terrorist group, making it illegal to formally be a member of the group, show public signs supporting it, or fundraise for it – with a penalty of up to 14 years in prison.
For Fr. McGowan, the government’s decision to denote PA as a terrorist group following this attack on the nation’s air force was “the last straw.”
“I do not believe that this group are terrorists,” said the priest, echoing the comments of the United Nations who also condemned the government’s decision. Explaining this stance, he said:
In Parliament Square there is a statue of Millicent Fawcett, the leader of the Suffragettes, who did far more damage to property than Palestine Action, for the cause of women’s rights. There is also a statue of Nelson Mandela who also committed material damage to draw attention to the immorality of the Apartheid Regime. I remember in the mid-1990’s when Britain was sending fighter jets to Indonesia, for them to go on a bomb East Timor; a Christian country. People broke into British Aerospace in Warton, Lancashire, but they weren’t called terrorists.
Attending the protest, McGovern took with him evidence to directly ensure he would be violating the restrictions surrounding public support of PA: “I took with me a piece of paper on which I had written: ‘I support Palestine Action.’”
When questioned by others at the protest as to “where are the Church leaders,” the Carmelite priest replied that “I was representing the Church.”
The Carmelite’s wish to be arrested for his cause was granted, after he specifically asked law enforcement officers to take him into custody. Some 474 people were arrested as a result of the protest supporting Palestine Action that day.
Writing on ICN, he stated:
I realised that the police were only doing their job, and couldn’t forget my brother was a policeman. In the end I quietly asked a policeman to arrest me, which he duly did. I was taken to a police van, where I was searched and everything in my pockets was put into a bag, even my watch was taken. By this time a crowd of people had gathered around me, all filming this with their mobile phones.
God knows what the people on the tourist bus thought as they passed by. As we left the Square people gathered around the van an applauded, some banged on the windows, others gave the heart gesture with their fingers. I had been arrested for the first time in my life yet I felt calm, even serene.
The priest has since been charged under section 13 of the Terrorism Act, and – as he outlined – is due to present himself to the police later next month “when I shall have to wait to see what they will decide to do.”
“I am prepared for anything, even going to prison,” he wrote. “As soon as I could I contacted a friend in the West Bank who is helping Palestinians; I felt I could now look him in the eye. I have no regrets about what I did. My conscience is clear. Indeed, when I told the people at Mass the following day what I had done, they applauded me.”
Catholic Church leaders have increasingly expressed concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa recently stated that on his latest visit he saw “total destruction, hunger, lack of healthcare, children without schools, hospitals destroyed.”
Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly called for peace in the region and the Holy See has officially given support to the two-state solution.
READ: Holy See urges two-state solution for Israel, Palestine at the UN
“The Holy See remains convinced that the Two-State Solution, based on secure and internationally recognized borders, is the only viable and equitable path toward a just and lasting peace,” declared Archbishop Gabriele Caccia recently, in his role as the Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.
However, for a priest to so directly align with a political protest, especially in support of an organization recently declared a terrorist one, is without doubt notable and controversial. Though the Catholic clergy are obliged not to shy away from being public about matters which may be legislated – such as abortion – the clergy are urged to abstain from becoming unduly political.
The reference document for such questions has become Gaudium et Spes, which states:
Let the layman not imagine that his pastors are always such experts, that to every problem which arises, however complicated, they can readily give him a concrete solution, or even that such is their mission. Rather, enlightened by Christian wisdom and giving close attention to the teaching authority of the Church, let the layman take on his own distinctive role.
McGovern’s local Diocese of Northampton replied to this correspondent’s request for comment with a statement disassociating themselves from his actions.
“Fr John McGowen is a religious member of the discalced Carmelites and not a diocesan priest,” the diocese wrote. “He serves as part of this community in St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Chalfont St Peter. He is, as you say, a priest in our diocese but not of our diocese and therefore, we do not feel we can helpfully add anything to this story at the current time.”
