Of course not. Jesus’ words to his disciples on the subject of children were meant to teach that children too were capable of approaching Jesus and receiving salvation. Those words should not be interpreted as God-ordained support for raising holy terrors.
In previous decades and centuries, parents often kept very small children home from Mass and did not take them to church until they were mature enough to sit through it without disruption. In fact, even today, the care of small children is a just reason for missing Mass on a Sunday or holy day. Personally, I believe that parents ordinarily should take babies and toddlers to Mass, but not if they are unwilling to monitor their children’s behavior and remove them when they are unduly disruptive or when needs arise that should not be attended to in church.
In the situation cited by the CAF member, an usher should have approached the family and politely but firmly insisted that the child be taken outside until he calmed down. Of course, lay ministers at Mass must have the pastor’s support in this, and so it would be necessary for the pastor to set a policy of how such situations should be handled.
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