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A Catholic church in West Palm Beach, Fla., is planning to pray for Osama bin Laden. The action is sparking protest within the church itself.

That says something about communication within the church. Reactions to the death of bin Laden have been all over the place, and that’s understandable.

But headlines like “Church to Pray for bin Laden” really put it into perspective. Are we communicating one of our core doctrines—love your enemies—so poorly that actually doing it would make headlines?

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” -Matthew 5:43-44 (NIV)

Nobody ever said loving your enemy was easy. But the church has been called by Christ himself to love and pray for our enemies. How we as the church respond to evil communicates more than any marketing we’ll ever attempt.

I’m not sure if this is a commentary on the news media reacting to the church, or a commentary on how rarely the church actually follows the commands of Jesus.

What do you think?