as the new archbishop, that initiative was abandoned in the face of his previous opposition in Chicago. When Bishop James Quigley was installed, he retained Muldoon as his vicar-general. Bishop of Rockford In 1908, Pope Pius X appointed Muldoon as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Rockford. He was installed on December 15, 1908. Muldoon later told a friend that he was worried his enemies in the archdiocese might assault him due to his appointment. In December 1916, the Vatican indicated its interest in appointing Muldoon as bishop of the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles in California. Muldoon preferred to stay in Rockford, but was ready to accept the appointment. He was appointed Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles in 1917. When the papal bull arrived in Rockford, Muldoon had it placed unopened on the mantle of his fireplace. Meanwhile, the clergy and laity of Rockford petitioned the Vatican to cancel the appointment. On May 15, the Vatican allowed Muldoon to remain as bishop of Rockford. With the 1917 entry of the United States into World War I, Muldoon became active in ministering to soldiers and recruits at Camp Grant, the US Army facility in Rockford. He was later appointed as chair of the National Catholic War Council. He worked for the establishment of recreational facilities for soldiers in bases throughout the country. He also assisted and coordinated with Protestant and secular agencies that were helping soldiers. The organization was considered a great success. In 1919, after the end of the war, Muldoon persuaded Cardinal James Gibbons to propose to the Vatican the creation of National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC), a peacetime organization that was comparable to the National Catholic War Council. With Vatican approval, the NCWC was created in 1919 with Muldoon as episcopal chair of its Social Action Department. In his vision for the NCWC, he supported a paper on social reconstruction written by Father John Ryan. The paper, which begun with the sentence "The only safeguard of peace is social justice and a contented people" contained series of proposed social reforms that were quite advanced for the time. These reforms included child labor laws and public housing for the poor. However, some American bishops felt that the NCWC was infringing on their control of their dioceses. They complained about it to Pope Pius XI in March 1922, who then revoked the NCWC approbation. Muldoon and Bishop Joseph Schrembs