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
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, participated in track and field athletics and was involved in the school newspaper. After school, Cullen worked as a cashier at an
Acme Market
Acme Markets Inc. is a supermarket chain operating 161 stores throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, the Hudson Valley of New York, and Pennsylvania and, as of 1999, is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and part of its presence in t ...
.
Following his graduation from West Catholic, Cullen studied engineering at Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia. In 1953, he entered
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school ...
in Overbrook, Pennsylvania, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958.
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
A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
La Salle University
La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle.
History
La ...
in Philadelphia (1971) and a
Master of Divinity
For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...
degree from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary (1974). From 1979 to 1993, Cullen served as a
chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
at St. Edmond's Home for Children in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Cullen was raised by the Vatican to the rank of
honorary prelate
A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour.
They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.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 Paria in Proconsulari is an Ancient town and former bishopric in Roman Africa and now a Latin titular see of the Roman Catholic Church.
History
The diocese (in Latin Rite Pariensis in Proconsulari) was founded in late antiquity in a town of wh ...
co-consecrators
A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop.
The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...
. Cullen selected as his episcopal motto: ''"Christ, Church, Compassion"''.
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. In 2003, he was appointed to the
board of trustees of The Catholic University of America
The Board of Trustees of the Catholic University of America have the ultimate responsibility for governance and sole responsibility for fiscal affairs of the university. The bylaws and civil charter limit the board to no more than 50 members, of ...
.
In January 2004, Cullen stopped allowing the celebration of mass and other
sacraments
A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the real ...
at The National Centre for Padre Pio in
Barto, Pennsylvania
Barto is an unincorporated community situated between the boroughs of Bally and Bechtelsville in Washington Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. Barto is part of the Delaware Valley, located near the border with Montgomery County ...
, located in the diocese. Cullen had previously expressed concern over the Centre's fundraising practices and lavish salaries for family members managing the Centre. The Centre appealed Cullen's ruling to the Vatican, which rejected its appeal. In September 2020, Bishop
Alfred A. Schlert
Alfred Andrew Schlert (born July 24, 1961) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Allentown in Pennsylvania since 2017.
Biography
Early life and education
Alfred Schlert was b ...
lifted the sacrament ban on the Centre. In 2008, Cullen carried out a so-called restructuring to largely eliminate ethic 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.
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
John Oliver Barres ( ; born September 20, 1960) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, who has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York State since January 2017. He previously served as bishop of t ...
as his replacement.
On August 14, 2018, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro released a
grand jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
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."