Sir, - As the founder of Candlemas, a Catholic spiritual initiative for families and friends bereaved by suicide, may I say how saddened I was by the decision of Archbishop Connell not to allow Father Pat Buckley, uncle of the late Mr Christopher Geoghegan, to celebrate this young man's funeral liturgy in a Catholic church in the Archdiocese of Dublin.Given the tragic circumstances of this young person's death, a magnanimous gesture by Archbishop Connell would have been a compassionate pastoral response in the face of this terrible trauma for the young man's parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends. It is a pity the Archbishop chose this sad occasion to raise other matters not relevant to Mr Geoghegan's family.Since the Church allows under Canon 976 "any priest" (i.e. excommunicated, laicised, suspended) to absolve a penitent in danger of death, it is difficult to perceive the denial of the use of a church to a priest for an hour to celebrate Mass for a suicide victim as being anything other than vindictive and indeed callous. It can only add to the inexpressible pain and grief of the family.One of the themes of the Jubilee of the Year 2000 is, according to Pope John Paul II, "an increased sensitivity to all that the Spirit is saying to the Church and to the Churches". It seems that this sensitivity to the Spirit of comfort and consolation was singularly lacking in recent days towards the Geoghegan family from Archbishop's House. Dr Connell's words are most impressive, but from my own pastoral experience significant and caring gestures, not words, are far more meaningful and long remembered by families tragically bereaved.The Russian writer Nicolai Lyeskov, in his story The Enchanted Wanderer, tells how an Orthodox priest in disfavour with his metropolitan and about to be removed from his parish "bettered the affairs of suicides in the other world" as he always prayed for them at "holy offertory". Providence, in the person of St Sergius, protected the priest from the bishop's wrath and allowed him continue his ministry.When pity seems to be replaced by power it is all too easy to forget that a crozier was once a shepherd's crook. - Yours, etc.,From Rev Peter O'Callaghan Inch, Killeagh, Co Cork.