| Most Rev. Edward Peter Cullen | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Allentown | |
| Church | Roman Catholic |
| See | Allentown |
| In Office | 1997—2009 |
| Predecessor | Thomas Jerome Welsh |
| Successor | John Barres |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 18, 1962 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 15, 1933 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Previous post | Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, Titular Bishop of Paria in Proconsolare Bishop |
Edward Peter Cullen (born March 20, 1933) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the third Bishop of Allentown. His resignation was accepted on 27 May 2009 by Pope Benedict. [1]. At the same time, Pope Benedict named Msgr. John Barres as the fourth Bishop of the diocese.
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The second of six children in an Irish Catholic family, Edward Cullen was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Edward Peter and Julia Catherine (née Leahy) Cullen.[1] He was raised in Yeadon, along with his older sister, Joan, and three younger brothers, Joseph, John, and James.[2] Cullen attended West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys, where he excelled at football and track and was involved in the school newspaper, and worked as a cashier at an Acme supermarket.[1]
Following his graduation from West Catholic, he studied engineering at the Drexel Institute of Technology.[1] In 1953, he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, from where he obtained Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958.[1]
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 in Hatfield and 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.[2]
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.
On February 8, 1994, Cullen was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia and Titular Bishop of Paria in Proconsolare by Pope John Paul II. The event was con-celebrated by the notorious Father DePaoli, a man with thousands of dollars worth of illegal pictures of children. Cullen received his episcopal consecration on the following April 14 from Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, with Archbishops John Foley and Francis Schulte serving as co-consecrators.[4] He selected as his episcopal motto: "Christ, Church, Compassion".[1]
Cullen was later named Bishop of Allentown on December 16, 1997. Replacing the retiring Thomas Welsh, he was formally installed on February 9, 1998.[4] In 2003, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America.[1]
In 2008, Cullen initiated a program which would restructure many parishes in the Diocese. As part of this program, 47 parishes were closed, this reduced the number parishes from 151 to 104.
In April 2009, Cullen described the University of Notre Dame's decision to have President Barack Obama to deliver its commencement speech and receive an honorary degree as "disappointing" and "not in harmony" with the directive of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops against honoring pro-choice politicians.[5]
| Preceded by Thomas Jerome Welsh |
Bishop of Allentown 1998—2009 |
Succeeded by John Barres |