Prior to joining the Catholic church, Reverend William Aitcheson of Arlington, Virginia was a Ku Klux Klan member, the Washington Post reports.

Now the 62-year-old Catholic priest is temporarily stepping down from public ministry. The move comes after he revealed in an editorial he wrote for the Arlington Catholic Herald, "Moving from Hate to Love with God’s Grace," that he was a KKK member.

"What most people do not know about me is that as an impressionable young man, I was a member of the Ku Klux Klan," Aitcheson wrote. "It's public information but it rarely comes up. My actions were despicable. When I think back on burning crosses, a threatening letter, and so on, I feel as though I am speaking of somebody else. It's hard to believe that was me."

At the age of 23, Aitcheson committed heinous hate crimes such a burning six crosses in Prince George's County, Md. and making bomb threats. One of these cross burnings took place in the yard of a recently married black couple. President Ronald Regan visited the couple after the incident, apologizing, saying that their trial was "not something that should have happened in America."

The Maryland State Police identified Aitcheson as the leader of the Robert E. Lee Lodge of Maryland Knights of the KKK. His identity was enshrined in the public record both for his role in the burning of the crosses, and for a letter he wrote to Coretta Scott King.

In the letter, Aitcheson wrote, "stay off the University of Maryland campus or you will die.”

He gave the icon a choice: “Africa or death by lynching, take your pick," and signed the letter, "the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan."

The priest was tried and convicted for both wrongs; he was sentenced to 90 days and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine for the cross burning, and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and four years of probation for the King letter.

Aitcheson says that he has changed his heart now.

"The images from Charlottesville are embarrassing," he wrote. "They embarrass us as a country, but for those who have repented from a damaging and destructive past, the images should bring us to our knees in prayer. Racists have polluted minds, twisted by an ideology that reinforces the false belief that they are superior to others."

Though the supremacist life was the life he once knew well, Aitcheson is making a conscientious effort to make certain that he is not associated with the beliefs of white supremacists anymore.

"We must condemn, at every opportunity, the hatred and vile beliefs of the KKK and other white supremacist organizations. What they believe directly contradicts what we believe as Americans and what we, as Catholics, hold dear," says Aitcheson in his epistle.

Aitcheson also asked for forgiveness of those who have suffered because of his actions:

"While 40 years have passed, I must say this: I’m sorry. To anyone who has been subjected to racism or bigotry, I am sorry. I have no excuse, but I hope you will forgive me."

After the editorial was published on Monday, Aitcheson requested to temporarily leave his position in the Church; his request was granted.

Rev William Aitcheson

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