Edward Peter Cullen

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.

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.

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 the Overbrook section of Philadelphia, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958. in Hatfield, Pennsylvania for three years, then went to St. Bartholomew Parish in Philadelphia.

Krol sent Cullen to study at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was awarded a Master of Social Work degree in 1970. From 1979 to 1993, Cullen served as a chaplain at St. Edmond's Home for Children in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

The Vatican raised Cullen to the rank of honorary prelate in April 1982. Cullen selected as his episcopal motto: "Christ, Church, Compassion". In 2003, he was appointed to the board of trustees of The Catholic University of America. The Centre appealed Cullen's ruling to the Vatican, which rejected its appeal. In September 2020, Bishop Alfred A. Schlert lifted the sacrament ban on the Centre.

In 2008, Cullen carried out a restructuring of parishes in the diocese. The diocese closed 47 parishes for a new total of 104 parishes. Some of the closed churches were then sold.

Retirement and legacy Cullen's letter of resignation as bishop of Allentown was accepted on May 27, 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI. At the same time, the pope 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. Shapiro said that Schlert and others earned promotions from Cullen for their work in handling the allegations. 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."

Cullen died on May 9, 2023, at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at age 90.