During an interview with The Guardian she opened Christmas cards from her office at Canterbury Cathedral and shared how one of the cards which depicted Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in a tent deeply resonated with her.
“It’s crucial how we treat the most vulnerable,” Hudson-Wilkin said. “That includes refugees and asylum seekers. We need to ask ourselves why people leave their homes in the first place. I understand the concern over small boats, and we need to prevent people dying at sea, but we also need to ask: why are they fleeing?”
She added: “Nobody in their right mind leaves a warm country to come to a freezing cold Europe. Something’s going on.”
Her own journey from Jamaica to Kent is the subject of her upcoming memoir, The Girl From Montego Bay, which will be released next month.
In it, she recounts the hardships of her childhood, her developing faith, and the racism and sexism she encountered as she pursued her calling to the priesthood.
“My childhood wasn’t filled with caring adults,” she reflected. “There were no hugs or affirmations, just beatings for minor offenses.”
She recalled feeling “hurt and alone” but also having a strong sense of faith that guided her.
“I knew God’s hand was on my life, and my pain wouldn’t be in vain,” she says.
By age 14, Hudson-Wilkin knew she wanted to become a priest, though it seemed impossible given that women were not allowed to be ordained.
After waiting 20 years, she was ordained in 1994, just as the Church of England began to allow women into the clergy. “God had journeyed with me through the darkness of rejection,” she wrote in her memoir.
Hudson-Wilkin said remains pained by the fact that even today, some within the Church continue to question the legitimacy of female priests.
“The message is that you’re not quite the real deal,” she said. “It’s painful to be in a church where certain theological views reject your place in the ministry.”
When asked about the Church's history with slavey and racism, Bishop Rose said: “Just because there are a few black bishops now doesn’t mean everything is fixed. Racism still exists.”
She maintains that the Church must take a stand on matters of injustice and inequality. “Absolutely, the Church must have a political voice,” she asserts. “Jesus had compassion and intervened on behalf of people, and so must the Church speak out on issues that affect ordinary people.”
When discussing the ongoing war in Gaza, Hudson-Wilkin did not shy away from calling out the violence. “What Hamas did on 7 October 2023 was barbaric,” she said. “But I don’t understand why Israel has continued to destroy human life for over a year. War doesn’t solve anything - it only creates more pain.”
She stressed that while Israel has the right to defend itself, it does not have the right to deprive civilians of essential supplies like medicine and food. “We in the West didn’t speak up clearly enough on this,” she adds.
The Church of England is also grappling with a crisis of its own, stemming from its failure to protect vulnerable individuals from abuse. The resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby last month over his handling of sexual abuse scandals, and calls for further resignations, has rocked the institution.
Hudson-Wilkin is no stranger to the trauma of abuse. In her memoir, she reveals that she was sexually abused from a young age, including by relatives and by so-called religious men in the Church. “This is part of a much larger story,” she wrote, “a world where men use their dominance to exploit those they deem weaker.”
Despite her own painful past, Hudson-Wilkin is resolute in her stance that the Church must address its failings. “My heart goes out to all those affected by abuse,” she says. “But we also have to acknowledge the steps being taken to improve safeguarding and ensure justice for survivors.”
She cautioned against a “lynch mob mentality” that calls for the resignation of leaders without a proper investigation. “We need proper processes to ensure that abuse is handled with the seriousness it deserves,” she says. “We must stop the mob mentality, both in the media and within the Church, that just demands someone’s head.”
Bishop rose concluded: “I’ve carried the cross of rejection all my life...but I know God is with me.”