Catholicism isn’t politics.
You are still a Catholic and can come back at any time. Find a priest you can talk with and get your questions answered.
On the heaven, purgatory or hell question — no one knows. The priest was right.
But read some of the NDE threads — and you will be surprised at what these near death experinces revealed to people. Many have converted to Catholicim because of them.
"This day shalt thou be WITH ME in Paradise"
Dang ... I .. and we all ... are no better, worse in fact, than a condemned man ON the gallows.
(death bed conversion?)
There goes all that "live for the Lord" stuff