Deacons and Bishops

A new way of thinking has been making its way through the Church. Once upon a time, the adage was 'once a deacon, always a deacon.' In other words, even after being ordained priest, by being first ordained a deacon, you will always be a deacon, and must always keep an element of servanthood, even in priestly ministry. I have always seen that as a good thing -- in that it keeps parish priests humble, because we are always called to be servant leaders.

However, with the rise of the vocational diaconate (which is, by the way, a good thing), there has been a new perspective that says that Holy Orders are not like trading cards to be collected -- that in fact, you are ordained a deacon only until such time as you are priested. Then you are no longer a deacon, but a priest.

There are a couple of problems with this notion, as I see it. First of all, what does this do to the notion of indelible marks on the soul? (See the Wikipedia entry on Sacramental Character.) Do we no longer believe that ordination is permanent, like Baptism or Confirmation, but more like Matrimony, (which creates a permanent bond that only lasts until death, but not forever)?

The other question it raises for me is this: If, as they say, I am no longer a deacon, but a priest, does it also hold true that our bishops are no longer priests, but bishops? Not too long ago, Bishop Pitman told me that after some of the latest retirements, he was the most senior priest in the diocese. Do I have the same right to correct him for hijacking my priestly ministry as the deacons who think that I am taking something away from their diaconal ministry by claiming to still be a deacon myself?

And if I'm really not a deacon anymore, did the church want me to lie at my first ordination, when the bishop asked me 'Do you believe that you are truly called by God and his Church to the life and work of a deacon?' Hmm...