He served as director of clergy personnel until 1989, when he was named chancellor and vicar general - essentially serving as chief executive officer of the archdiocese, overseeing its daily operations. Cardinal William H. Keeler ordained him as a bishop in 2001, simultaneously appointing him a vicar of the archdiocese's six western counties.
"He was very forthright, and I think he had everybody's respect," said Monsignor Art Valenzano, pastor of St. John's Church in Westminster. "There's no pretense about him. He certainly has earned and gets the respect of being a bishop, but he's never lost the credibility of being a man that's worked in the trenches with the rest of us."
The administrative posts put Malooly in the public eye as allegations of abuse by priests surfaced in the 1990s. Malooly presided at meetings with parishioners to inform them of allegations against clergy. Victims were instructed to contact him as the chancellor of the archdiocese, according to news reports.
