A Catholic priest in the Arlington Diocese who wrote a column asking forgiveness for the time he spent as a member of the Ku Klux Klan 40 years ago when he was “an impressionable young man” has never paid court-ordered restitution for cross-burning and other racist actions he pleaded guilty of doing at that time.
Father William Aitcheson, 62, a priest of the Diocese of Arlington, Va., is pictured in an undated photo. The priest Aug. 21 said that 40 years ago, "as an impressionable young man," he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and called his actions "despicable." "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," he wrote in the Arlington Catholic Herald, the diocesan newspaper. (CNS photo/courtesy Diocese of Arlington)
