His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Edward Peter Cullen
Bishop Emeritus of Allentown
ChurchRoman Catholic
DioceseDiocese of Allentown
AppointedDecember 16, 1997
InstalledFebruary 9, 1998
Term endedMay 27, 2009
PredecessorThomas Jerome Welsh
SuccessorJohn Barres
Orders
OrdinationMay 19, 1962
by John Krol
ConsecrationApril 14, 1994
by Anthony Bevilacqua, John Patrick Foley, and Francis B. Schulte
Personal details
Born(1933-03-15)March 15, 1933
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMay 9, 2023(2023-05-09) (aged 90)
Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Previous post(s)
EducationDrexel Institute of Technology
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
University of Pennsylvania
La Salle University
MottoChrist, church, compassion
Coat of arms
Styles of
Edward Peter Cullen
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Edward Peter Cullen (March 15, 1933 – May 9, 2023) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Allentown in Pennsylvania from 1998 to 2009 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1994 to 1998.

Biography

Early life and education

Cullen was born on March 15, 1933, to an Irish Catholic family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Edward Peter and Julia Catherine (née Leahy) Cullen. He was raised in the Yeadon section of Philadelphia, 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 and was involved in the school newspaper. After school, Cullen worked as a cashier at an Acme Market.[1]

Following his graduation from West Catholic, Cullen studied engineering at Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia. In 1953, he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, Pennsylvania, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958.[1]

Ordination and ministry

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

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

Cullen was raised by the Vatican to the rank of honorary prelate in April 1982,[1] and served as director of Catholic Social Services from 1983 to 1988.[3] In August 1988, Cullen was named vicar general of the archdiocese.

Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia

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

Bishop of Allentown

Pope John Paul II appointed Cullen as bishop of the Diocese of Allentown on December 16, 1997, replacing the retiring Bishop Thomas Welsh. Cullen was installed on February 9, 1998.[5] In 2003, he was appointed to the board of trustees of The Catholic University of America.[1]

In January 2004, Cullen stopped allowing the celebration of mass and other sacraments at The National Centre for Padre Pio in Barto, Pennsylvania, located in the diocese. Cullen had previously expressed concern over the Centre's fundraising practices and lavish salaries for family members managing the Centre.[6] The Centre appealed Cullen's ruling to the Vatican, which rejected its appeal.[7] In September 2020, Bishop Alfred A. Schlert lifted the sacrament ban on the Centre. In 2008, Cullen carried out a so-called restructuring to largely eliminate ethnic parishes in the Allentown Diocese. The diocese closed 47 parishes for a new total of 104 parishes. Some of the closed churches were then sold.[8]

Retirement and legacy

Cullen's letter of resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Allentown was accepted on May 27, 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI. At the same time, Pope Benedict named Monsignor John Barres as his replacement.

On August 14, 2018, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro released a grand jury report on the handling of sexual abuse allegations against priests in Pennsylvania. The report showed that Cullen, as bishop of Allentown, instructed his vicar general, then Monsignor Alfred Schlert, to act as an "enabler" when handling abuse allegations.[9] Shapiro said that Schlert and others earned promotions from Cullen for their work in handling the allegations.[10] By the time the grand jury report was released, many records on sex abuse in the diocese were missing. The grand jury report involved six Pennsylvania dioceses, and it stated that "we believe that the real number — of children whose records were lost, or who were afraid ever to come forward — is in the thousands."[11]

Cullen died May 9, 2023, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at age 90.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Diocese of Allentown: The Bishop | Biography: The Most Reverend Edward P. Cullen, D.D." Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown. Archived by the Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on January 29, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ↑ St. Maria Goretti Church, Hatfield
  3. 1 2 "Bishop Welsh's Resignation Accepted; Bishop Cullen to Allentown". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. December 15, 1997.
  4. ↑ "Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown". Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena.
  5. 1 2 "Bishop Edward Peter Cullen". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  6. ↑ "Padre Pio is focus of religious turf war ** Allentown Diocese, Berks shrine fight over funds, leadership". The Morning Call. February 8, 2004. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Vatican backs diocese ban on Masses at Padre Pio center ** Bishop Cullen said shrine in Berks County violated church law". The Morning Call. November 3, 2004. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  8. ↑ Althouse, Steve. "Several Lehigh Valley Catholic churches consolidated by Diocese of Allentown", Pennlive.com, May 31, 2008
  9. ↑ "Attorney General Lists Dozens of Priests Accused of Sex Abuse in Grand Jury Report". Wnep.com. August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  10. ↑ Hall, Christine Schiavo, Emily Opilo, Riley Yates, Peter (August 14, 2018). "Scathing Pennsylvania grand jury report accuses hundreds of priests of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children". mcall.com. Retrieved January 26, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ "Scathing Pennsylvania grand jury report accuses hundreds of priests of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children". August 14, 2018.
  12. ↑ McHugh, Blakely (May 9, 2023). "Edward Cullen, former Allentown Diocese bishop, dies at 90". WFMZ.com. Retrieved May 16, 2023.

Episcopal succession

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