Praying for Osama
I meant to post this blog entry a long time ago, but it became one of the many posts to hide itself away in my Drafts folder. I came across it yesterday and, given the recent horrific events in Connecticut, I thought it was an appropriate time to finally post it.
An unusual prayer request
Back in May of 2011, there was a great stir after a parishioner of a parish in Florida requested a Mass to be said for the soul of Osama Bin Laden.
This request caused all kinds of uproar among other parishioners:
“I think it’s totally wrong, he doesn’t belong in the Catholic religion. For what he did to Americans, he doesn’t belong anywhere…”
“It’s unconscionable, it’s sacrilegious…”
While I can understand the gut reaction of those who objected to this proposed Mass intention, how compatible are these statements with the Catholic faith?