I thought hell would freeze over before I agreed with the pope. But in a world riven by cruelty, that day has finally come

‘The reality is that the big boss of the Catholic church, an institution I have a large amount of distaste for, is now the person in power making the most reasonable statements,’ writes Rebecca Shaw. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images

I have never been a religious or spiritual person, even though I grew up in a religious area and had friends (and strangers) throughout school and university trying to lure me into whatever prayer disguised as organised fun they were up to. I did try it out shortly for a desperate period when I was young, attempting to pray to a God I didn’t really believe in to make me not gay, but blessedly he never answered.

Despite my resistance to organised religion, I have always had a soft spot for nuns and their counterparts. The girlies.