British Court Sentences Priest Who Refused To Pay Fine On Moral Grounds

A British judge has sentenced a Catholic priest to a short prison term after the priest refused to pay a fine that was imposed on him for damage caused by his anti-war protest. Ekklesia today reports that Fr Martin Newell, a member of the London Catholic Worker, was one of three demonstrators last December who poured red paint on a military base sign after praying with a banner reading "We All Have Blood on Our Hands". The judge in the Highbury and Islington Magistrates Court told Newell that while his refusal reflected a moral position, "the law must be upheld despite belief."