UK's 100,000 Covid death toll is a 'day of great sadness', says Vincent Nichols

The head of the Catholic Church of England and Wales has asked people to pray after the Government confirmed that 100,000 people in the UK have now died from Covid-19.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols said it was a "day of great sadness all over the land".

"So many people, families, communities, remembering those who have died in these terrible months of the pandemic. Each one is mourned. Each one is to be prayed for," he said.

"This is our instinct, our faith, our practice. Our prayer is rooted in the faith that, in death, life is changed, not ended, for the promise of eternal life opens the door of hope even in our darkest moments.

"I pray for each and everyone, those who have died, those who mourn, those who serve.

"Please, please, join me in prayer."

Church leaders in the Church of England are also calling on people to pray. 

The UK has the highest death rate from coronavirus in Europe and one of the highest in the world, with the toll far exceeding the 20,000 deaths that chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said back in April 2020 would be a "good outcome". 

Confirming the numbers on Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "deeply sorry for every life that has been lost". 

"It's hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic," he said. 

News
Christians take issue with 'one-sided' engagement over conversion therapy ban
Christians take issue with 'one-sided' engagement over conversion therapy ban

LGBT groups have the ear of the Scottish government.

2,700 conversions recorded as Germany’s Free Evangelical Churches report renewed growth
2,700 conversions recorded as Germany’s Free Evangelical Churches report renewed growth

Baptisms and conversions have risen across Germany’s Federation of Free Evangelical Churches, as new figures suggest congregational life has largely rebounded after the setbacks of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The book that changed Sweden: 500 years of the Swedish New Testament
The book that changed Sweden: 500 years of the Swedish New Testament

2026 is the 500th anniversary of the first New Testament in Swedish. This is the story …

Catholic Church 'deeply disturbed' by Greens call for complete abortion decriminalisation
Catholic Church 'deeply disturbed' by Greens call for complete abortion decriminalisation

The Catholic Church in Scotland has said it is “deeply disturbed” by the Scottish Green Party’s call for the complete decriminalisation of abortion.