Precedent, compromise mark Coakley-Flores leadership elections

BALTIMORE (OSV News) -- The U.S. bishops' conference has elected its next president, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City.

Archbishop Coakley was elected by a narrow margin -- 54%, or 128 votes out of 237 -- in a third-ballot runoff against Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, who subsequently was elected vice president of the conference on the first ballot, a fraction of a percent over the majority.

This was Archbishop Coakley’s fourth time on a ballot for the bishops’ top leadership, with an appearance on each triennial ballot since 2016. At 70, he would have been ineligible to stand for office in three years, as bishops must be able to complete a three-year term ahead of the mandatory retirement age of 75.

Since 2007, an archbishop or a cardinal has been elected conference president, and the same for those elected vice president. With the exception of 2010, the conference has elected the incumbent vice presidents to be president -- at least until 2022 when now-retired Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit was unable to run for the presidency due to age. The same proved true this year when Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, vice president since 2022, was ineligible for the presidency for the same reason.

In 2022, with Archbishop Vigneron unable to stand for office, the bishops turned to the next ranking office of conference secretary for the new president, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, who concludes his term at the conclusion of this week’s plenary. For this reason, it stood to reason for many observers that Archbishop Coakley, conference secretary since 2022, was the likely frontrunner and heir apparent in today’s election.

Respect for precedent and custom

Archbishop Coakley’s election signals that an unspoken but regularly respected principle of seniority has yet again been a deciding factor of the bishops’ election. While some observers pondered what effect Pope Leo might have on the election, it would appear that the adherence to custom and respect for experience that Pope Leo has expressed to-date might stick out as more prevalent than anything else.

Archbishop Coakley, a bishop since 2004, possessed the combination of length of service as a bishop and higher rank as archbishop. He served as bishop of Salina for six years ahead of his appointment to the Oklahoma capital city in 2010.

Archbishop Coakley has long been a leader within the bishops' conference, and he has been a member of many committees. Then-bishops’ conference president Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz appointed Archbishop Coakley to serve as chairman of the Catholic Relief Services board of directors in 2013, a position he held until 2016. In 2018, Archbishop Coakley was elected to a three-year term as chairman of the conference’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. He is currently a member of the Committee on Divine Worship.

After Archbishop Broglio was elected president in 2022, Archbishop Coakley twice has been elected to serve as secretary, first to fulfill Archbishop Broglio’s term, then to a term in his own right, which was to conclude 2027.

As conference secretary, Archbishop Coakley serves as chairman of the Committee on Priorities and Plans, which shapes and guides the conference’s strategic goals and is responsible for implementing its long-term vision. It was during the tenures of both Archbishop Broglio and Archbishop Coakley in this position that they became heirs apparent to conference presidency, since the tradition of elevating the outgoing vice president to the top position has been stalled by the election of two back-to-back vice presidents who were ineligible to stand for office due to age restrictions.

Other candidates on the presidential ballot proved unable to gain momentum for that office or the vice presidency. Notable for his media and evangelization fame, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, 65, has chaired two conference committees but did not have a significant showing during the elections. There are other candidates who did not advance on the ballot, but who almost surely will see their day in leadership, like Boston’s Archbishop Richard G. Henning, 61. Archbishop Henning is a rising star in the conference, who, although head of one of the largest American dioceses, also had the least amount of episcopal experience on the ballot, as he was only ordained in 2018.

A clear, orthodox leader

Archbishop Coakley’s tenure as archbishop in the Oklahoma Bible Belt has seen a slight increase in Catholic population, despite a slight decrease in the overall population within his archdiocese. He also is regarded as a clear expositor of Catholic doctrine and morality.

In a state eager to employ use of the death penalty, Archbishop Coakley has been vocal in supporting alternatives and advocating against its use. In defense of life, he has been unafraid to speak out against abortion, particularly when it comes to political supporters within the church.

He is also on the record supporting the bishops’ longstanding view that opposition to abortion is a “preeminent” issue for Americans to consider when forming consciences to vote in elections. In 2024, Archbishop Coakley wrote: “Choosing a candidate who is most likely to promote a policy that respects innocent life is the primary consideration.”

In 2023, Archbishop Coakley released a pastoral letter articulating the church’s teaching on human anthropology, speaking to the threats posed by the transgender movement to individuals with gender dysphoria.

Archbishop Coakley sits on advisory bodies to many institutions and organizations, including the Institute on Religious Life. He also serves as ecclesiastical adviser of the influential and conservative Napa Institute's executive team.

After arriving in Oklahoma City, Archbishop Coakley took the reins of the cause of canonization of Stanley Rother, an Oklahoma priest martyred in Guatemala in 1981. Archbishop Coakley has dedicated himself to promoting and preserving Rother’s rich legacy of pastoral charity and missionary zeal. In the years after Rother’s 2017 beatification, which successfully drew an estimated 20,000 people to Oklahoma’s capital, Archbishop Coakley oversaw the construction of the impressive Blessed Stanley Rother shrine, dedicated in 2023, which houses the relics of the first U.S.-born martyr.

Vigano 'testimony' response

In August 2018, after a “testimony” released by the now-excommunicated former apostolic nuncio to the U.S, Archbishop Carlo Vigano, Archbishop Coakley was among a number of bishops -- including then-U.S. bishops’ conference president Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo -- to call for an investigation into the record and activities of the former cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick.

Archbishop Vigano, long since discredited due to his constant stream of divisive rhetoric and promotion of conspiracy theories, had an impeccable record at the time he released his initial manifesto. Archbishop Coakley’s response to Archbishop Vigano’s testimony -- along with that of many bishops -- called for a “purification” of the church from the sins and crimes of the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

The strong push from a wide array of U.S. bishops in the wake of the McCarrick scandal and the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report on abuse in several of the state’s dioceses was widely anticipated to be the impetus to bringing into effect some necessary reforms. It was squelched, however, by a motion from Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago in November 2018, when he asked bishops from the floor of the plenary assembly to give Rome time to act. The resulting product was the Vatican-implemented “metropolitan model,” the procedure of which is outlined in Pope Francis' motu proprio "Vos estis lux mundi," which assigns bishops to opaquely investigate their own accused of any misconduct.

A successful compromise veep

Looking ahead, custom now positions Bishop Flores of Brownsville, a close runner-up to Archbishop Coakley, to be frontrunner for the USCCB presidency in three years.

A bishop since 2006, Bishop Flores served previously as an auxiliary in Detroit from 2006 to 2009. He ranked third in seniority on the ballot for top conference officers. That Bishop Flores has not yet been elevated to a more prominent see has been a surprise to many, especially as he was widely speculated to be a possible successor to Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo in Galveston-Houston before now-Archbishop Joe S. Vasquez was assigned there early this year. His election as vice president could signal to Rome his support among the body of bishops and position him better for an elevation in the years ahead.

Bishop Flores is widely viewed as a successful compromise candidate, a moderate backed by a consensus, with strong intellectual chops. A Thomist by training, Bishop Flores is a regular speaker at a variety of events and conferences -- including as a regular homilist at USCCB events -- invitations that speak to his broad appeal and wide-ranging talents.

Located on the U.S.-Mexico border, Bishop Flores is well-positioned to be able to offer a strong voice in support of the pastoral care of migrants now on the national level. Bishop Flores also has experience helping the church engage with and implement the synodal path, as he oversaw the synod process in recent years on behalf of the USCCB, as well as in the continental synodal process and in the two Synods on Synodality in Rome.

In the days ahead of this week's election, Bishop Flores’ candidacy garnered wide support, including from the conference's more progressive bishops, signaling that he doesn't fall into typical ideological camps..

While the election of Archbishop Coakley and Bishop Flores to the top spots of the U.S. bishops' conference draws attention to the needs of the church in the growing American south, it also signifies a growing inability for the bishops to select a leader by an overwhelming majority. Even though Bishop Flores was successfully elected vice president on the first ballot, it's noteworthy that he only earned 119 votes out of 234.

The days when USCCB leadership elections yielded victories by margins more than 70% on the first ballot -- such as with Cardinal Francis George, formerly of Chicago, in 2010 and Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, in 2019 -- seem increasingly rare. It might also mean that Archbishop Coakley and Bishop Flores have their work cut out for them when it comes to helping Pope Leo advance the mission of unity he has been clearly articulating since the earliest days of his pontificate.