Edward Cullen (bishop)

Edward Peter Cullen (born March 15, 1933) is a retired American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania from 1998 to 2009.

His Excellency, The Most Reverend Edward Peter Cullen
Bishop Emeritus of Allentown
Church	Roman Catholic
Archdiocese	Philadelphia
Diocese	Allentown
Appointed	December 16, 1997
Installed	February 9, 1998
Term ended	May 27, 2009
Predecessor	Thomas Jerome Welsh
Successor	John Barres
Orders
Ordination	May 19, 1962 by John Krol
Consecration	April 14, 1994 by Anthony Bevilacqua, John Patrick Foley, and Francis B. Schulte
Personal details
Born	March 15, 1933 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Previous post	Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, Titular Bishop of Paria in Proconsolare
Motto	Christ, Church, Compassion

Styles of Edward Peter Cullen
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

Biography

Early life and education

The second of five children in an Irish Catholic family, Cullen was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Edward Peter and Julia Catherine (née Leahy) Cullen. He was raised in Yeadon, along with his older sister, Joan, and three younger brothers, Joseph, James, and John. Cullen attended West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys, where he played football, participated in track and field athletics, was involved in the school newspaper, and worked as a cashier at an Acme supermarket.[1]

Following Cullen's graduation from West Catholic, he studied engineering at the Drexel Institute of Technology. In 1953, he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, from where he obtained Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958.[1]

Ordination and ministry

On May 19, 1962, Cullen was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop John Krol in the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. He then served as an assistant pastor at St. Maria Goretti Church[2] in Hatfield for three years and then at St. Bartholomew Church in Philadelphia.

Cullen was sent by Archbishop Krol to study social work at the University of Pennsylvania, later earning his Master of Social Work degree in 1970.[1] This was followed by a Master of Religious Education from La Salle University (1971) and Master of Divinity from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary (1974).[3] From 1979 to 1993, he served as a chaplain at St. Edmond's Home for Children in Bryn Mawr.[4]

Cullen was raised to the rank of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness in April 1982,[1] and served as director of Catholic Social Services from 1983 to 1988.[3] In August 1988, he was named vicar general of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia

On February 8, 1994, Cullen was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia and Titular Bishop of Paria in Proconsolare by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following April 14 from Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, with Archbishops John Foley and Francis Schulte serving as co-consecrators.[5] He selected as his episcopal motto: "Christ, Church, Compassion".[1]

Bishop of Allentown

Cullen was appointed Bishop of Allentown on December 16, 1997, replacing the retiring Thomas Welsh. He was installed on February 9, 1998.[5] In 2003, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America.[1]

Cullen stopped sacraments at The National Centre for Padre Pio in Barto, Pennsylvania in 2004 for unspecified reasons.

In 2008, Cullen, under the direction of his superior and head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, carried out a program which would restructure many parishes in the Diocese. As part of this program, 47 parishes were closed, this reduced the number of parishes from 151 to 104. Some of the closed churches were then sold.[6]

Cullen's resignation was accepted on 27 May 2009 by Pope Benedict. At the same time, Pope Benedict named John Barres as the fourth bishop of the diocese.

Handling of Sexual Abuse

On August 14, 2018, Pennsylvania Attorney General released a report that showed that Cullen instructed his vicar general Alfred Schlert to act as an "enabler" when handling abuse allegations.[7] A.G Shapiro said that Schlert and others earned promotions from Cullen for their work in handling the allegations.[8] By the time the grand jury report was released, many records on sex abuse in the diocese were missing, with the grand jury stating that each of the six dioceses investigated "we believe that the real number — of children whose records were lost, or who were afraid ever to come forward — is in the thousands."[8]

References

1. "The Bishop". Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown. Archived from the original on 2012-04-19. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
2. St. Maria Goretti Church, Hatfield
3. "Bishop Welsh's Resignation Accepted; Bishop Cullen to Allentown". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 1997-12-15.
4. "Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown". Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena.
5. "Bishop Edward Peter Cullen". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
6. Althouse, Steve. "Several Lehigh Valley Catholic churches consolidated by Diocese of Allentown", Pennlive.com, May 31, 2008
7. "Attorney General Lists Dozens of Priests Accused of Sex Abuse in Grand Jury Report". Wnep.com. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
8. http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-nws-grand-jury-report-catholic-dioceses-20180612-story.html

External links

• The Diocese of Allentown: The Bishop
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown

Episcopal succession