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	Retired Allentown Bishop Edward Cullen Plays Role in Philadelphia Grand Jury Report on Abusive Priests By Jim Deegan The Express-Times February 24, 2011 http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1298523906119270.xml&coll=3 Retired Allentown Bishop Edward Cullen played a role in deceiving parishioners about a priest accused of molesting an altar boy at a Philadelphia parish 18 years ago, according to a Philadelphia grand jury report. Cullen, who retired as bishop of Allentown in May 2009, was vicar for administration to Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua in Philadelphia before becoming Allentown Diocese bishop in 1998. In 1993, Cullen issued a memo to another Philadelphia Archdiocese administrator, Monsignor William Lynn, saying parishioners of St. Therese of the Child Jesus parish in Philadelphia should be told the Rev. Edward Avery was resigning as pastor for health reasons, the grand jury report says. In fact, Avery had been accused of sexual abuse. Avery later was assigned to another parish, St. Jerome, where authorities say in 1998 he, another priest and a teacher started sexually assaulting a boy when the boy was 10. Prosecutors say the abuse continued until 2000. Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams announced rape and related charges against Avery and the others in connection with that alleged abuse earlier this month. Unprecedented case Additionally, in what is believed to be the first-of-its-kind case in the nation, the district attorney's office arrested and charged Lynn because they said he reassigned priests with knowledge of their abusiveness and failed to protect children from sexual abuse. Cullen, a top aide to Bevilacqua, will face no charges because the statute of limitations on the 1993 case identified in the grand jury report has expired, said Tasha Jamerson, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. "That does not mean if a new victim came forward and there was new evidence, he wouldn't be charged," Jamerson said. "If someone came forward and we could prove he moved a priest involved, that would be different." Under statute of limitations rules, a victim of sexual abuse by a clergyman could file a complaint up until the victim turns 30 years old, Jamerson said. Matt Kerr, a spokesman for the Diocese of Allentown, said the diocese would have no comment on the grand jury report. "It's a Philadelphia report," he said Wednesday. Cullen's tenure Cullen, 77, lives in a diocese-owned home in Lower Macungie Township. He retired at age 75 in May 2009 and still does confirmations for the diocese, Kerr said. Cullen could not be reached for comment. Kerr pointed to several initiatives launched under Cullen's tenure in Allentown aimed at the sex abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church. "When he was bishop of Allentown, Bishop Cullen strengthened diocesan policies against the sexual abuse of children, cooperated completely with the five district attorneys, appointed the first victim assistance coordinator and the first diocesan review board," Kerr said. While bishop, Cullen dismissed seven diocesan priests connected to allegations of engaging in sex acts with minors. 2005 testimony The grand jury report is the second produced in Philadelphia since 2005. Cullen testified before the grand jury that led to the 2005 report. He testified then that Bevilacqua was insistent in all cases that parishioners not be told the truth about abusive priests, the latest grand jury report says. Cullen is mentioned on two pages of the latest, 124-page report. It includes a memo Cullen wrote Aug. 25, 1993, to Lynn in which he passes along Bevilacqua's instructions about how the matter involving Avery should be handled. Says the report: "The Cardinal wanted his Secretary for Clergy (Lynn) to falsely explain Father Avery's resignation to his parish as a matter of health, rather than inform parishioners of the truth -- that the priest had molested at least one altar boy, and could not be trusted around adolescents." The grand jury began its investigation two years ago, Jamerson said. Both the 2005 and 2011 reports paint a dim portrait of Bevilacqua's handling of sexual abuse cases; the latest grand jury concluded there wasn't enough evidence to successfully prosecute Bevilacqua, who is 87.
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