A group which says people of faith are being targeted by hate speech laws will hold a free speech event in Dublin on Easter Monday.
Catholics for Free Speech, a group advocating for the importance of freedom of speech in Ireland, say they are gathering in a procession in Dublin to support freedom to worship and to express Catholic vaues.
The group recently contributed to the successful No/No campaign in the referenda on motherhood and care.
The procession will commence after Mass at St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral on Malborough Street at 12 noon. It will travel through the north inner city and finish at the Garden of Remembrance at 2:30pm. The group said the event is open to families, and anyone who supports free speech or wishes to participate in this important cause.
“We’re gathering in prayer of the Rosary to see the end of any attempt to curtail our rights to express Catholic values and beliefs by the backdoor such as the so-called ‘hate speech’ bill,” the group said in a statement.
“Politicians tell us ‘Look, in its present form it’s going nowhere’. This bill would have enabled the imprisonment for activities such as public prayer against abortion, euthanasia, and other ideologies. We hope and pray that the government will never reconsider such legislation and continue to work towards honest, fair, unbiased, and clear law-making that supports the freedom to worship.”