Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City was elected to serve as the next president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in a secret ballot Nov. 11.
Bishops chose Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, to serve as vice president. Bishop Flores, who serves in the southernmost diocese in Texas, finished second in balloting for president. Archbishop Coakley subsequently won a runoff.
Archbishop Coakley, who was previously secretary of the USCCB, will serve a three-year term as president, succeeding Archbishop Timothy Broglio. The bishops held the election at the Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore.
He has a history of promoting a culture of life, opposing gender ideology and supporting migrants.
The archbishop, who turned 70 years old in May, became a bishop in 2004. He has served in the Oklahoma City archdiocese since 2011. He holds a licentiate in sacred theology.
Archbishop Coakley’s defense of a culture of life is a continuation of Archbishop Broglio’s leadership on the subject. Under Archbishop Broglio, the bishops maintained that abortion is the “preeminent priority” in elections.
In 2022, Archbishop Coakley praised Oklahoma lawmakers “for supporting pro-life measures” following a law that banned nearly all abortions. He said, to build a culture of life, one must recognize “the inherent dignity of every person (and it) requires the protections afforded by pro-life legislation and a profound change of heart.”
Archbishop Coakley has criticized the Oklahoma government for its support of the death penalty. In 2022, he said: “The use of the death penalty only contributes to the continued coarsening of society and to the spiral of violence.”
In 2023, he expressed concern about the rise of gender dysphoria and the promotion of gender ideology in American society. He provided advice to parents but criticized drugs and surgeries used to facilitate a gender transition.
Archbishop Coakley has also criticized the mass deportation efforts taken by President Donald Trump’s administration. In February, he said deportations are “creating fear and even distress for our immigrant, migrant and refugee neighbors who have arrived in search of the same dreams that awaited many of our ancestors at a different moment in time.”
He also said in the statement that “illegal immigration is wrong, and renewed efforts should be considered to protect our nation’s borders.” He mentioned concerns about human and drug trafficking but said most people who entered the country illegally “are upstanding members of our communities and churches, not violent criminals.”
Bishop Flores is former president of the USCCB Committee on Doctrine and was the only southern-border bishop in contention for the role of president. He will serve a three-year term as vice president, succeeding the former vice president, Archbishop William Lori.
Bishop Flores, 64, holds a doctorate in sacred theology and is a former theology professor. He has been a bishop since 2006. He was one of 12 bishops to serve on the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod on Synodality and is a promoter of synodality in the church.
In 2017, Bishop Flores said support for mass deportations is “formal cooperation with an intrinsic evil,” like driving someone to an abortion clinic. He has expressed concern about polarization in the church and urged “civil conversation… to seek what is good and make the priority how to achieve it and how to avoid what is evil.”
