The Belfast Telegraph is refusing to publish parts of an ad dealing with the right to life of the unborn [1] that had been taken out by the Northern Irish Catholic Bishops.
The newspaper initially agreed to publish the bishops’ statement on today’s elections in the North, “Make Your Voices Heard [2]”.
However, they subsequently asked that sections highlighting abortion and religious freedom be taken out.
In one example, in a section about the rights of the unborn, the paper objected to the line saying that the unborn are “being increasingly relegated – culturally, politically and legally – to the realm of the worthless and sub-human”.
Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, called the move “disturbing” and said it amounted to “editorial interference” and “censorship”.
Another newspaper, the Irish News, carried the ad in full.