By the Reverend Rob Hilton, Christchurch, Ilkley

Two Popes have canonised two previous Popes. The Archbishop of Canterbury has said ‘don’t open the champagne yet, but we’re nearly there on women bishops’. The Prime Minister has said Britain is a Christian country and Christians should be more evangelical about their faith, and the deputy prime minister has disagreed. Recently I attended a forum discussion of difficult topics between Christians and Muslims at Bradford Cathedral, and am constantly updated on facts and figures regarding foodbanks run by churches and charities.

As a Christian church leader, it’s great to know that our faith is relevant and real.

I want the media and politicians to remember the Christian faith, I also want people to know Jesus. I want to hope I can say that in a way that doesn’t mean people think I’m out of touch with reality. What I want to see is every human person live a meaningful and beautiful life. Which means when government policy drives them into poverty and they need charity, I have questions to ask as to what sort of Christian country we are. It means that if we’re to talk of saints, every one of us must be capable of what Popes do, or there’s no point. It means that I find much more in common with many devout Muslims than the media would suggest, and it means I want to see justice for women in the church hierarchy, and proper church weddings available for gay people who want them for that matter too!

But as I was taught at a very early age, you don’t always get what you want, or straight away.

We’ve recently celebrated Easter. For me this means the great joy of knowing that Jesus is alive in our experience of life – these family joys and reasons we get up in the morning, as well as the griefs, troubles, and frustrations we all know. What I’ve just said comes out of my experience of Jesus – his love for me, his love for others I’ve known, and the gradual journey of changing my life and my mind that I think God asks of me. I want you to know that too, and I want society to be transformed by knowing it as well.