Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley has been elected as the new president of the United States Conference of Bishops. Source: CNA.
Gathering in Baltimore for their Plenary Assembly, the bishops elected Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, to serve as vice president.
Archbishop Coakley, who previously served as secretary of the USCCB, will serve a three-year term as president, succeeding Archbishop Timothy Broglio.
He has a history of promoting a culture of life, opposing gender ideology, and supporting migrants.
The archbishop, who turned 70 in May, was ordained a bishop in 2004. He has served in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City since 2011.
Archbishop Coakley’s defence 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 recognise “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 criticised 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.”
Archbishop Coakley has also criticised 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 neighbours 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 the majority of people who entered the country illegally “are upstanding members of our communities and churches, not violent criminals.”
Bishop Flores, 64, will serve a three-year term as vice president, succeeding the former vice president, Archbishop William Lori.
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U.S. bishops elect Archbishop Paul S. Coakley as USCCB president (By Tyler Arnold, CNA)
