Praying for bin Laden’s soul

In all the wall-to-wall converge of Osama bin Laden’s death, this remains an unusual story: A Catholic parishioner has requested that bin Laden’s name appear in the Holy Name of Jesus Sunday bulletin.

WPTV in West Palm Beach, Fla, reports:

Father Gavin Badway admits many in his congregation are unhappy. But he says the church has never turned down a prayer request before. He says making the right decision isn’t always easy.

“Their hearts are troubled because they’re thinking emotionally about what he has done and he has done a lot of evil. Nevertheless, Jesus tells us, love and forgive,” says Father Badway, who is the church pastor.

This really shouldn’t be that surprising. As mentioned before, many religious folks have said that people shouldn’t be rejoicing in bin Laden’s death. Praying for his soul is a logical next step.

On a related note, if you saw this story elsewhere and found the theological terminology mystifying, you’re not alone. As Mollie points out at GetReligion, coverage has been a mess.