Statement of the Conference of Catholic Bishops England and Wales

Following the Prime Minister’s historic announcement last night (23 March) strengthening restrictions in an attempt to combat the spread of COVID-19, Catholic Churches are closed to the public at this time.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols stresses that we must all play our part to safeguard the NHS and to save ‘precious lives’.

“We’re going to play our full part in it. That was the call of St. Paul that we ought to be good citizens and today we ought to be good citizens playing our part in the protection of the vulnerable, in our support for the NHS and in the preserving of human life, which is so precious to God in the face of this virus.”