The
Rev. John McNeill, an openly gay Roman Catholic priest who, from the
1970s onward, publicly pressed the church to welcome gay men and
lesbians — and who was expelled from his order as a result — died on
Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 90.
His death was announced by DignityUSA,
an organization that supports gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
Catholics. Father McNeill had helped found its New York chapter in 1972.