Ex-Priest, Hilarion Heagy posts message to all
"I can't be a priest publicly and Muslim privately"
Islam Newsroom - "News We Need - When We Need it"
“One simply can’t be a priest publicly, and a Muslim privately," says New Muslim, (Hilarion Heagy, now "Abdul Latif"), it was “a return to East” & to his “primitive identity”.
Then he gave a quote from Quran:
"And recall when your Lord brought you from the loins of children of Adam, their offspring and they testifyed regarding themselves. "Am I not your Lord?" They all reply, 'Yes. You are! We testify". "Now you have no right on Judgment Day, to say, 'We were not aware of this." ReciteQuran.com/7:172
“It is for this reason converts of Islam often do not speak so much of ‘conversion’ as they speak of a ‘reversion’ to Islam — our primordial faith. A long process of Returning,” he adds.
“The future is uncertain for me. There are always fears when you take a leap in the dark. And yet, I feel such a peace. A joy. A relief. My pull towards Islam over twenty years has finally led me home. Now begins the work of entering deeper into the faith. A deeper learning. A love for the Deen. A love for the Ummah. A love for the Prophet ﷺ”, he added.
UPDATE POSTED ON ISLAM NEWSROOM -
"It’s been about a month and a half since I started my trek on the road east from California, yet it already feels like something of a lifetime. After decades of feeling drawn to Islam in varying degrees, I had finally decided to take the plunge. For this to happen, however, a physical move was necessary and in order, as I was living in a Catholic monastery.
One simply can’t be a priest and monk publicly - and a Muslim privately. For the better part of a year, this had been the situation — at least increasingly so in my private thoughts. Now, I had to step out into the unknown. No safety nets. Just trust in God."
