The ‘conservative culture warrior’

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Nov 13, 2025

This week when the US bishops voted to make Archbishop Paul Coakley the next president of their episcopal conference, AP report described the new leader as a “conservative culture warrior.” The description stuck.

Evidently playing rip-and-read with the AP wire story, the Los Angeles Times headline blared:

U.S. Catholic bishops select conservative culture warrior to lead them during Trump’s second term

At ABC News the headline ran:

US Catholic bishops elect conservative culture warrior to lead them during Trump term

Whereas MSN’s different editorial approach yielded this result:

US Catholic bishops elect conservative culture warrior as new leader

The followed suit:

US Catholic bishops select conservative culture warrior to lead them during Trump’s second term

And PBS was no different:

U.S. Catholic bishops select conservative culture warrior to lead them during Trump’s 2nd term

News outlets that use wire-service stories are free to write their own headlines. A very careful reader may have noticed very subtle differences in the headlines. Some papers said the bishops “elected” Coakley; others reported that he was “selected.” Some referred to Trump’s “second” term, others to the “2nd,” and still others simply reminded us that the bishops’ vote occurred during Trump’s term—since that seemed the most relevant fact about the (s)election. The MSN headline merely informed readers that the “conservative culture warrior” had been elected, without giving his name or mentioning the office for which he was chosen. But in every case, the lure of that magical phrase, “conservative culture warrior,” was apparently too strong to resist.

Oh, there were exceptions.

The Guardian did not identify Archbishop Coakley as a “culture warrior”—not in the headline, at least—but still conveyed the same essential story line:

US Catholic bishops elect conservative president, doubling down on rightward lean

The Dallas News was understated, using just one adjective:

U.S. Catholic bishops select conservative Oklahoma City archbishop to lead them

And by the following day, after the bishops issued highly unusual “special message” blasting the Trump administration’s immigration policies, the New York Times chose not to pursue the “culture warrior” theme, merely identifying Archbishop Coakley as an “institutionalist with ties to the church’s right wing.”

The secular media invariably view the Catholic Church through political lenses, so in coverage of USCCB election, the first angle of approach would naturally be the implications for the bishops’ relations with the White House. But where is the evidence that Archbishop Coakley is not only a “conservative” but actually a “culture warrior?” Yes, he opposed legal abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender ideology. On all these issues his stand matches the constant teachings of the Catholic Church and the consistent statements of the conference he has now been chosen to lead. If he differs from other bishops, it is only in his willingness to state these positions clearly, even when they clash with contemporary fashions. And that, you see, is what makes him a “culture warrior” in the perspective of the mainstream media.

Have you ever seen a public figure identified in the media as a “liberal culture warrior?” Of course not. In the most contentious of public debates, one side can be presented vigorously; the other side must apologize for advancing unpopular views, or face the adjectival consequences.

At their meeting this week, after making the Coakley selection, the US bishops elected Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, to be vice-president of their episcopal conference and heir apparent to the presidency. Bishop Flores, the media accounts reassured us, is a “centrist.” If you don’t know what that means, you haven’t been paying attention.