April 04, 2006

Pope appoints Boston auxiliary bishop to lead Cleveland diocese

CLEVELAND (OH)
Boston.com

April 4, 2006

CLEVELAND --Pope Benedict the XVI appointed as bishop of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese a leader who was interim head of the Boston archdiocese during the height of the clergy sex abuse scandal.

Bishop Richard Lennon will be introduced later Tuesday at a news conference in Cleveland with his predecessor, retiring Bishop Anthony Pilla, diocese spokesman Bob Tayek told The Associated Press.

Lennon, 59, was ordained in 1973 and became an auxiliary bishop in 2001. He led the Boston archdiocese for about six months on an interim basis after Cardinal Bernard Law quit in 2002 amid pressure for mishandling the priest sex-abuse scandal in Boston.

During that tenure, Lennon received mixed reviews from members of the nation's fourth-largest diocese.

Posted by kshaw at April 4, 2006 12:21 PM