I was on a conference the other day in Cologne and went into the dome for a minute or two (mainly to escape the sweltering heat) and immediately regretted not to have brought my camera. Well, my cell phone had to make do. I love being in churches. So serene. Calm. Cool. Quiet. Full of light and shadows. Candles that you light for the people in your life that need some light and some hope... In the last few months I have developed utter spite for the catholic church and the way they handled the scandals surrounding (invading) them and I thought several times about leaving the church altogether. It has not come that far, even though I have no connection with the religious side of my religion. I do have, however, a deep connection with my church on a historical level. On a level of memories, of connection with my parents and with important times in my life that were marked with some kind of catholic ritual.
These days, I only attend church either at funerals or at weddings and I loathe it both times. Being in a church on my own, however, fills me with a deep peace and sense of belonging that is hard to come by. Maybe in a gay club at 4am when all are dancing to the same beat and we all know that we're basically the same... maybe then.
The catholic church and gay culture have shockingly many things in common (and I'm not only talking about men in dresses that surround themselves with guys too young for them).
This blog post did not go where I intended it to go...
