MASSACHUSETTS
Berkshire Eagle

By Dick Lindsay
rlindsay@berkshireeagle.com @BE_DLindsay on Twitter

SPRINGFIELD — The Most Rev. Mitchell T. Rozanski has apologized to and seeks forgiveness from Western Massachusetts Catholics pained by the clergy sex abuse scandal, church closings and any disconnect from their local parishes.

In an open pastoral letter titled “The Wideness of God’s Mercy,” the bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield also called upon diocesan priests to get out among parishioners and work to make them a vital part of their churches.

Rozanski issued the letter on Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, which he says is a time of mercy and evangelization. The epistle also coincides with the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which was declared by Pope Francis in December and lasts through the end of the liturgical year on Nov. 20.

In the letter, the bishop called for clergy and lay people to…