Britain’s Nottingham University (NU) has reversed its decision after initially refusing to appoint a priest as chaplain for its Catholic students because he held Christian view points.

Premier Christian News reports that the university had rejected Father Palmer’s appointment because of statements he made on twitter describing assisted suicide as ‘killing the vulnerable’ and abortion as ‘the slaugher of the unborn.’

The Roman Catholic Church had put forward Father David Palmer as a replacement for a departing Catholic chaplain.

There was a massive backlash to NU’s decision, that even included criticism from Ann Furedi, the former executive director for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, who supports abortion.

In an interview with the Catholic Herald, Furedi called NU’s decision ‘stupid‘, adding, “I disagree with his views on abortion but as a Catholic priest he’s expressing a mainstream Catholic view. Universities can’t tell chaplains what religious beliefs to express“.

The UK division of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF UK) helped get the decision overturned arguing it was a violation of freedom of speech.

In an interview with Premier News, Lois McLatchie, a spokesperson for ADF UK stated, “If universities want to uphold what they were made to be they are going to have to learn to welcome diverse thought and diverse opinions in order to freely exchange and debate.“

READ: Nottingham University announces U-turn after blocking pro-life priest from chaplaincy role AND Abortion chief defends Nottingham priest