NOT FOR HIRE.

I am a resigned priest. I am no longer a favored son. I love the church, and I respect its discipline. I have been invited by Episcopal and Orthodox friends to join them and resume active ministry. Although I am honored by their invitation, I choose not to leave the Church of Rome.

I have also been solicited by a group called C.I.T.I. (Celibacy Is the Issue) and by Rent-a-Priest, asking if I would like to "work" again. I am not honored by such invitations: I choose not to engage in a free- lance ministry that does not enjoy the authorization of my bishop.

I would love to minister again as a married priest, but a married priest in communion with the local bishop and through him to Peter. I do not know if I will live to see that happen, but I have serious ecclesiological problems with the idea of ministering out of union with the church. I am not for hire.

In the second century, Saint Ignatius of Antioch, an early father of the church, first used the term "church catholic" to refer to the universal church: a communion of sister churches, each under the leadership of its bishop. Ignatius wrote, "Where the bishop is, there is the church." The bishop, in the early church, was not only the leader of the local church, but he linked that local church with all the other churches, who were united in faith and in love as the church catholic.

When I use the term church catholic, I am referring to the undivided church prior to the Great Schism of 1054: the patriarchates of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. A strong case has been made by both Roman Catholic and Orthodox bishops and theologians that there is a mutual recognition of sacraments and creed, and hence, a communion of faith and love, that awaits full implementation, hopefully, in our time.

The church catholic has always recognized in this relationship of bishop and community a guarantee of unity within itself, a unity that was not necessarily a uniformity. Even today, the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches base their canonicity upon this structure.

Whether the bishop of Rome is recognized as having "immediate and universal jurisdiction" in the entire church (the Roman Catholic position), or whether he is seen as the "elder brother responsible for maintaining a communion of faith and love among sister churches-the first among equals" (the Orthodox position), it is clear that the ministry of authority in the "church catholic" is not something that is purely arbitrary.

The earliest forms of ordained ministry were bishop (episkopos) and deacon (diakonos). As the church grew, the order of priest (presbyteros) came into being: a group of elders who represented the bishop. The bishop is the pastor of the local church, but because he cannot be everywhere at all times, the presbyters represent him in the faith communities of the local church. If I, as an ordained presbyter, choose to minister without proper authorization from the local church (that is, bishop), I do not represent him. The community that gathers around me is not in communion with him.

When a member of the "church catholic" finds himself or herself, for one reason or another, in a canonically irregular situation, the solution is to seek some kind of reconciliation with the church. To provide such a person with the services of Rent-a-Priest simply creates an illusion that "the church" blesses their marriage (in the case of a second marriage without prior annulment of a previous sacramental marriage). The church that is created by such a free-lance ministry is not in communion with the church catholic.

Organizations, such as CORPUS (Corps of Resigned Priests United for Service) and FCM (Fellowship of Christian Ministries), whose earliest members were resigned priests and their wives, seem to be endorsing free-lance noncanonical ministry of resigned Roman priests and others. This does a disservice not only to the universal church but perhaps even more so to those "irregular" Catholics who think they are finding a solution to their canonical situation. Is this any less a tearing apart of the Body of Christ, which is the church, than any other historical schism has been?

"Canonical" is not a dirty word, but refers to the legitimate right of the church to organize itself internally as well as its outreach to the world. My canonical status as a resigned priest means I have forfeited my place in the college of presbyters of the local church. I would be less than truthful and responsible if I did not accept responsibility for the consequences of my decision. I love the church enough to respect its discipline (although I may disagree with it and hope for change). I would not hesitate to minister as a priest if there were a true emergency where no canonical priest is available. But I am not for rent. I do not want be part of yet another schism.

Ken Lovasik lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.