The New (& the Old) Evangelization The pastoral mandate: Drawing the line in the sand

Feb 17, 2012

The questions that are being asked by many lay faithful are as follows: When the very politicians who advance the “Dictatorship of Relativism” and who aggressively deny religious liberty to the very Church they claim to love are allowed to walk through our church doors, then can we really expect to them to hearken to the complaints of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy? If our spiritual fathers do not discipline them as God the Father disciplines his children and as fathers of families are known to do, then can we expect these so-called Catholic politicians to reconsider their hostile actions? And most importantly, are the current pastoral practices consistent with Our Lord’s pastoral mandate in the Gospel of Matthew? Does he not instruct his Apostles to draw the line in the sand with regard to obstinate sinners?

Shortly after our Lord confers the keys to the kingdom of heaven to St. Peter and the authority to bind and loose upon the Apostles, he gives the following pastoral mandate for the pastors of his Church in those instances when sinners refuse to acknowledge their God-given authority:

“If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that 'every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” (18:15-17)

To begin with, it should be noted that elsewhere in the Gospels Jesus says we should forgive those who sin against us personally 70 x 7. On a personal and individual level we should forgive those who trespass against us unconditionally and indefinitely. This is for our spiritual benefit. But when we speak of the life and the integrity of the Church, such unrepentant sins, especially mortal sins, requires a different approach by pastors. In the former case we leave to God to deal with those who sinned against us. In the latter case bishops are commissioned by Christ to act on God’s behalf for the sake of the Church’s welfare and unity. The failure to publicly discipline those brothers who poise themselves as followers of Christ while obstinately defying the Church’s divine authority undermines both the mission and the unity of the Church. When sins and errors go unchecked, such as a persistent and obstinate refusal of obedience, it causes confusion among onlookers and it further creates division within the Mystical Body of Christ.

This is precisely why our Lord draws the line in the sand as it pertains to those brothers who do not listen to the Church. Jesus wants the elders of the Church to give the benefit of the doubt to those brothers who do get it wrong. So as to eliminate the possibility that ignorance is the cause of wrong doing, Our Lord says to have one brother correct the sinner; then two brothers if necessary. If the sinner does not listen to the two brothers who bear witness to the truth of the Gospel then Our Lord said bring him before the Church. If the sinner does not listen even to the Church then they, the elders of the Church (i.e. bishops, priests etc.), are no longer dealing with a person who is merely ignorant. Instead, what the Church has before her is an obstinate sinner who refuses to recognize her God-given authority. The disease of sin and error that was once thought to be benign has now proven to be malignant. As such, it has to be removed! This is why Jesus said that such a person be treated as a Gentile or a tax collector. In first-century Judaism Gentiles and tax collectors were treated as outsiders. Keep in mind that such a mandate coming from our Lord is borne out of love for the sinner and for the good of the Church.

Indeed, there are at least three reasons why the pastoral practice to exclude obstinate sinners from the communion of the Church was enjoined by our Lord and practiced by the Apostles, Church Fathers and the Saints.

First, the failure to reprove or exclude from the Church unrepentant sinners creates the public perception that mortal sin is compatible with the life of Christ. And worse yet, such failure is a disservice to the sinner himself. Politicians who publicly advocate for abortion rights and same-sex marriage with impunity naturally suffer from the mistaken belief that they are in communion with the Church and therefore in communion with God. In fact, there are many adversaries of the Gospel of Life who go to their deathbeds with this assumption. But as the parable of the wedding banquet suggests, the King has a dress code in heaven. And to be sure, those without a wedding garment will be asked to leave the table by the King. The question then becomes: When “Catholic” politicians enjoy full communion with the King’s Church, are they not made to believe that they can attend the heavenly banquet without a wedding garment? And are these current pastoral practices really preparing obstinate sinners for eternity?

The second reason for exclusion is this: Many bishops, again with good intentions, often engage in an ongoing conversation with wayward politicians behind closed doors. However, the unintended consequence is that mortal sin is perceived to be negotiable because of the high public profile politicians enjoy. It is because of unintended consequences like this that St. Paul instructed St. Timothy to reprimand the sinner publicly (cf. I Timothy 5:20). It is why Pope St. Gregory the Great said that private sins should be addressed privately and public sins should be dealt with publicly.

The third reason is that when public sinners can sit next to faithful Catholics on your local church pew, when they can stand before the altar and receive the Eucharist, that is, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ (even after St. Paul’s warning about the dangers of receiving such a Sacred Gift unworthily) and when they enjoy the fellowship of Catholics and intermingle with them, it inevitably creates moral confusion. To say it another way, when there is no public distinction made by the bishops between obstinate sinners and repentant sinners- when there is no separation between them –then in the minds of Catholics and other onlookers, there cannot be but little distinction between error and truth, between sin and holiness, and between vice and virtue. Say what you will from the pulpit, say what you will in your pastoral letters and say what you will in the classroom, the ministry of preaching and teaching will be undermined by this indiscriminate mix of obstinate sinners and repentant sinners. And from this indiscriminate mix emerges a division within the Body of Christ, the Church.

Why? Because when there is not a pronounced line in the sand between sin and error on one side and virtue and truth on the other, the former will get the upperhand over the latter. Division among Catholics is but the inevitable result. The unity of the Church is thus impaired. And the communication of truth is undermined by contradictory messages by those speaking in the name of the Catholic Church.