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	Humble Beginnings, Steady Climb, Difficult Assignment Beacon Journal [Cleveland OH] April 5, 2006 http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/14267096.htm When Richard Gerard Lennon, the new bishop of the Cleveland Diocese, became apostolic administrator of the troubled Boston Archdiocese and its 2 million Catholics in 2002, he was a relative unknown, untainted by the sexual abuse scandal. It was an unusually sensitive time -- he followed Cardinal Bernard F. Law, 71, who resigned amid accusations that he and other church officials ignored and covered up sexual abuse by priests. Seeking to stabilize the church, Lennon was forced to take painful steps -- he cut the budget, sold church property, and closed and merged schools. He was born on March 26, 1947, in Arlington, a working-class suburb of Boston. The second son of the Arlington deputy fire chief dropped out of math studies at Boston College after two years to transfer to St. John's Seminary. After being ordained in May 1973, he served as a parish priest for 15 years. From 1988 to 1998, he was assistant for canonical affairs for the Boston Archdiocese. In 1999, he was named rector of his alma mater, St. John's, for four years. In 2001, he began his rise in the management of the Boston Archdiocese, the fourth largest in the country -- first as an auxiliary bishop, then as apostolic administrator and finally as vicar general and moderator of the curia. Along the way, he earned master's degrees from St. John's. He is not a lawyer but is said to be an expert in canon law. He belonged to an organization that has pushed to give rights to priests accused of sexual misconduct. The organization says many priests were denied due process.
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