FRIENDS IN life, Christopher Grant, Ronald 'Reagan' Beckford, and Andre Virgo died and were buried as they lived -- together.
A combined funeral service for the three took place yesterday at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Braeton, St. Catherine.
Across from the three bouquet-covered caskets spanning the width of the church, Reverend Father Walter Dorsey declared: "Evil should not occur in this way again."
Grant, 17, a Calabar High School drop-out; 15-year-old Beckford, who used to attend the Greater Portmore Comprehensive High School and 17-year-old Virgo were killed in an alleged shootout with members of the police Crime Management Unit on March 14. Four others, 20-year-old Curtis 'Gary' Smith, 19-year-old Dane Whyte, 20-year-old Tamoya Wilson and 19-year-old Lancebert Clarke were also killed in the incident.
Police say the three youth were responsible for the March 13 shooting death of Keith Morris, principal of the Hartlands All-Age School in St. Catherine.
In a homily laced with exhortations to guide youngsters in the right direction, Father Dorsey told the congregation of his temptation to seek revenge, when his brother was shot five times in the back, 21 years ago.
It was God's grace, he said, which gave him comfort and consolation during this trying period. "Your call is mercy and love," the Catholic priest emphasised. "You can go the way that leads to further death or you can go the way of life".
Underscoring the need for "forgiveness and reconciliation in our land", Father Dorsey applauded the advocacy groups, Jamaicans for Justice and Families Against State Terrorism.
He urged the many mourners present, not to turn their backs on one another.
"Shepherd, console and guide the young and the old, the rich and the poor. Never give up on anyone, because we know that someone, and especially God, did not give up on us", he continued.
Father Dorsey told the congregation that they should take the initiative, to "challenge young people, and when you see them going in the wrong direction, correct them."
