Actually, what Mrs. Don-o isn’t agreeing with is your interpretation of what Christ was saying, not Christ Himself. But this point has been made ad nauseam on threads such as this so I’ll leave it at that.
Suffice to say, it seems unreasonable, at least to me, that anyone could believe that, when Christ said “treat them as you would a pagan or tax collector” He was saying “ban them forever from any worship gathering, and never speak to them again unless they repent”.
The very point of the Gospel was to REACH “pagans and tax collectors”. So unless one wishes to believe that after Christ ascended to Heaven, pagans and tax collectors were never talked to again, the verse you quote must have a deeper meaning than the interpretation you seem to assign to it.
What the Catholic Church believes is, that what Christ was commanding there was that such people should be “anathematized”, or as we say today “ex-communicated”. What this means for such hapless people is that they be banned from receiving the Sacraments (which now Sen. Durbin finds himself under, save Confession), but not that they are prohibited from hearing the Gospel again, either in or outside the Church.
Indeed, as even a casual study of Christian history will reveal, up to very recently (perhaps even up to Vatican II, but I’ll leave ebb tide to comment further on that if he wishes), anyone who was a candidate or catechumen (possible convert to Catholicism but hadn’t been received into the Church yet either by Baptism or Confirmation), such people were not permitted to stay for the entire Mass after the Liturgy of the Word (the part where we read the Bible during Mass). This was because again, such people weren’t allowed to receive any Sacraments until they were formally admitted.
The same applies (or in theory should) to anyone who has been ex-communicated. They are welcome to come hear the Word, but aren’t allowed to receive the Sacraments until they repent. And they will have a hard time repenting if they don’t have access to the Word, and a great place to hear the Word is in Mass. Thus they aren’t prohibited from attending Mass just from receiving the Sacraments (until they repent).
This is the understanding the Church brings to the passage you cite. This is how such people are treated as “pagans and tax collectors”. If you disagree with that interpretation, which is really more than personal opinion it’s based on tradition, if you disagree fine, but it’s your personal opinion that says “you disagree with Christ”, if you disagree with this practice. Unless you can show me in Scripture what it means to “treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector”.
No, you'd have to read Paul to understand how church discipline is carried out against members who are unrepentant - with the intent that the discipline results in repentance.
The very point of the Gospel was to REACH “pagans and tax collectors”. So unless one wishes to believe that after Christ ascended to Heaven, pagans and tax collectors were never talked to again, the verse you quote must have a deeper meaning than the interpretation you seem to assign to it.
You are conflating two different things. One, a group that desperately needed salvation and the second group of those inside the church.
What this means for such hapless people is that they be banned from receiving the Sacraments
Not what it says.
The same applies (or in theory should) to anyone who has been ex-communicated. They are welcome to come hear the Word, but aren’t allowed to receive the Sacraments until they repent. And they will have a hard time repenting if they don’t have access to the Word, and a great place to hear the Word is in Mass. Thus they aren’t prohibited from attending Mass just from receiving the Sacraments (until they repent).
Again, not what is commanded. Discipline is to bring them to repentance because they are no longer part of the fellowship.
Unless you can show me in Scripture what it means to “treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector”.
Again, you will have to read Paul and he will provide your education for free.