I’m going to speak for them since I haven’t seen a reply, so this is just an assumption and should be taken as such until they reply. But, there’s plenty of positive aspects of local churches outside of faith. Many churches run community-based philanthropy efforts and provide a gathering space for members and nonmembers which is especially helpful in locations that don’t have much in the way of things to do or other places to gather. Humans are social creatures and whether gay or not, the church is a large community.

Hell, no one trusts the Internet, but still comes back to participate.

In almost every case it’s because they were indoctrinated at an early age. Feels like child abuse to me, but since the vast majority of people are Christians in most countries, it’s considered a-okay.

Spiritual tradition, for starters. I also feel deep connection to liturgical traditions, and there’s a lot besides that I like about the RCC. I like that, generally, there’s someone at the church at any given time, that the building doesn’t stand empty for all but a few hours once per week. That I could go, and light a candle, and sit in contemplation, or speak with a priest. I like confession, I like a lot about the way the RCC functions. I just dislike the scandals, the bigotry, the, frankly, hatefulness that the church has proudly warn over the centuries. A big reason why I’m an Episcopalian is that it’s progressive, while also being liturgical. There are more progressive churches like the MCC, but they’re more congregational and remind me too much of the baptist churches I grew up in.

While it’s probably not important for a lot of people, for me, having that line of demarcation between the sacred and the secular, the robes and the chalices and the incense and bells, the line that says “this is a sacred space, one for meditation, contemplation, prayer” is important. It allows me to leave behind a certain mindset and enter a new one. Regardless of our ideas behind religion and spirituality, humans have been doing ritual for thousands, and potentially millions, of years. There’s a power behind it, even if it’s just in our heads. Nobody in Christendom does ritual quite like the Catholics. The episcopalians are good at it, but only on Sunday morning, and as much as I love the tradition, it lacks a lot of the spiritual tradition, like intercession of saints and a Marian ideology that I also crave. Anglocatholics are pretty good for that, but they tend to be conservative and anti gay, and most of them have moved to the ACNA, a schismatic group founded against the ordination of women and gay men.

There’s a lot to dislike about the RCC, and organized religion in general. I disagree with a huge chunk of it. The prohibition against marriage for priests has lead to so many problems. There’s too much to list, from the way nuns are treated, the prohibitions against birth control, LGBTQ+ issues, abortion, surrogacy… There’s a lot wrong with the institution. But I don’t think we should throw the baby out with the bathwater. It’ll never happen, but I dream of a day when there’s major reform within the Church.

I just want a hyper progressive RCC with a married trans woman pope :(

Edit to add:

Feel a bit like I’ve misrepresented myself, so to clarify: I’m an Episcopalian, but I’m also a nondualist Advaitin (Hindu). I am not your average viewer or really anyone’s target audience, so don’t extrapolate my comments to the larger religious/gay community. Haha.