ADAMS, Mass. — A veteran North Berkshire priest has been called from retirement to serve the Parish of St. John Paul II as well as St. Mary of Assumption in Cheshire.

 

The Rev. William Cyr will be the interim administrator after the current pastor, the Rev. Barrent Pease, was reassigned after outrage over a Mass intention for Christmas.

 

Midnight Mass at St. Stanislaus Church had included an intention "for the conversion of the Jewish people that they receive Jesus as their messiah." The intent is not line with Vatican's current teaching that condemns anti-Semitism and rejects proselytizing Jews. 

 

As first reported in The Berkshire Eagle, a complaint was made to the bishop and the intention removed, to be replaced by "for the conversion of all non-Christians, that they receive Jesus as their messiah."

 

Bishop William Byrne of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, in a letter posted Dec. 23, said the "painful but necessary" decision was to remove Pease immediately. 

 

"Father Pease feels badly for any misunderstanding or unintended offense he may have caused," Byrne wrote. "He honestly was trying to respond openly and act faithfully has your administrator."

 

He asked the parish include him in their prayers "as he reflects on and learns from this experience."

 

Local Jewish leaders said they planned to reach out to the diocese.

 

Pease had come to the parish last February, replacing the Rev. Steven Montesanti. He was raised in Montgomery, and was ordained in Springfield in 2017. His first assignment was at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in West Springfield.

 

Cyr and the Rev. Gary Dailey stepped in over the Christmas services. Cyr has been assisting at the Parish of John Paul II. 

 

Cyr was most recently the pastor at St. Elizabeth of Hungary in North Adams for 13 years until his retirement in 2018. He was the pastor of the Parishes of Sts. Patrick and Raphael for 15 years until being transferred in 2002 to St. Catherine's Parish in Springfield. He served in several area parishes and taught at the former St. Joseph's High School for a few years.