Tlee Agony of the Cliurcli in Texas, z82r-1836
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declared that during his sojourn in Texas the colonists had consistently been hospitable and that he was grateful to them for many courtesies. He had come to Monterrey to thank the Bishop in person for granting him authority to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation, a privilege indicative of the great love of the Bishop for his children in Texas and of his confidence in him as their pastor. Muldoon explained that as a cleric he should not express an opinion on the causes of the political unrest stirring the colonists, as politics was not in his sphere. He was confident that whatever discontent existed could not be attributed to religious antagonism. 83 Instead of returning to Texas, he went on to Mexico City." By the spring of 1833, he was in the Capital. Muldoon had a weakness for acting pompous and playing important roles. He had introduced him- self to Austin in Saltillo as the pastor and vicar general of all the colonies before he had even received the appointment. He now pre- sented himself to Jose Antonio Mexia in Mexico City as the com- missioner of Austin and of the colonists to secure the annulment of the Law of April 6, 1830. Mexia had been in Texas at the time of the Turtle Bayou Resolutions, and had become a staunch friend of Austin and the Texans. The veteran politician apparently saw through the Padre and wrote Austin ". . . the circumstances are not at present the best for him to obtain a good despatch, nor do I believe indeed, that you have commissioned him for any thing." 85 Undaunted by Mexia's cold reception, Muldoon made the rounds of other politicians and influential officials, introducing himself as the Texas Commissioner and leaving the impression that he knew conditions first- hand. In a communication, which he sent to the official gazette of Coahuila and Texas as the "Pastor and Vicar General of the Colonies in Texas, with Faculties to Administer Confirmation throughout his jurisdiction," he asserted that since he was being constantly plied with questions by "congressmen and ministers" concerning Texas, he had 83Muldoon, Proclamation to the Public, September 4, 1832, reprinted in Spanish in Barker, op. cit., II, 854-855. The proclamation was reprinted in the Sa11 Luis Advocate (Texas), October 20, 1840, with an editor's reference to it as "circular of the notorious Padre Muldoon . . . a specimen of the Good old Colony times, when we were under the Pope of Mexico." "Was Muldoon recalled? Was he reappointed and given additional powers? If so, why did he go on to Mexico City instead of returning to Texas? These questions have puzzled the author. IS Mexia to Austin, March 27, 1833, Barker, op. cit., III, 933.
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