Premium Content:

Irish police abandon Stephen Fry blasphemy investigation

Stephen Fry

Irish police have halted their blasphemy investigation focusing on Stephen Fry because they couldn’t find enough people who were offended by his comments.

- Advertisement -

The complaint was lodged by a member of the public after a 2015 television interview where Fry, an atheist, described what he’d say God if they met at the pearly gates.

Fry told interviewer Gay Byrne’s show The Meaning of Life that he’d question God about some of the injustices in the world.

“I’ll say: bone cancer in children, what’s that about?” he said.

“How dare you. How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that’s not our fault? It’s not right. It’s utterly, utterly evil.

“Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?”

The man who made the initial complaint to police has said that he was not personally offended by Fry’s comments, but felt it was his civic duty to report the crime.

Under Ireland’s Defamation Act 2009 a person who publishes or utters blasphemous material “shall be guilty of an offence”. People found guilty of the crime can be fined up to £25,000.

Ireland is the only country to introduce a blasphemy law this century.

Police have abandoned their investigation because they have been unable to find enough people who were offended.

Atheist Ireland,  a group who campaign against the law, says the case shows how dangerous and absurd the law is. They are calling for a referendum to be held to change the laws.

OIP Staff

 

 

Latest

Callout for Transgender Day of Remembrance speakers and performers

Transgender Day of Remembrance is coming up later this month, an important opportunity to honour trans and gender diverse lives.

Review | ‘The Moogai’ exposes horror of intergenerational trauma

“The Stolen Generation is such a massive wound in the psyche of Australia, but it is often thought of as something in the past."

Chappell Roan debuts sapphic country track ‘The Giver’ on ‘SNL’

Chappell Roan's trajectory to superstardom is unlike anything we’ve seen in a very long time.

Actor Chloë Grace Moretz shares she’s gay, endorses Kamala Harris

Actor Chloë Grace Moretz has shared she is a lesbian, while encouraging Americans to get out and vote this week.

Newsletter

Don't miss

Callout for Transgender Day of Remembrance speakers and performers

Transgender Day of Remembrance is coming up later this month, an important opportunity to honour trans and gender diverse lives.

Review | ‘The Moogai’ exposes horror of intergenerational trauma

“The Stolen Generation is such a massive wound in the psyche of Australia, but it is often thought of as something in the past."

Chappell Roan debuts sapphic country track ‘The Giver’ on ‘SNL’

Chappell Roan's trajectory to superstardom is unlike anything we’ve seen in a very long time.

Actor Chloë Grace Moretz shares she’s gay, endorses Kamala Harris

Actor Chloë Grace Moretz has shared she is a lesbian, while encouraging Americans to get out and vote this week.

Lawyer for Beau Lamarre-Condon withdraws from the case

The former police officer will now be represented by NSW Legal Aid.

Callout for Transgender Day of Remembrance speakers and performers

Transgender Day of Remembrance is coming up later this month, an important opportunity to honour trans and gender diverse lives.

Review | ‘The Moogai’ exposes horror of intergenerational trauma

“The Stolen Generation is such a massive wound in the psyche of Australia, but it is often thought of as something in the past."

Chappell Roan debuts sapphic country track ‘The Giver’ on ‘SNL’

Chappell Roan's trajectory to superstardom is unlike anything we’ve seen in a very long time.