Outspoken priest Bernard McLaughlin dies

The Rev. Bernard P. McLaughlin, the beloved former pastor of St. Gerard Majella Church in Canton, died early this morning, according to Terrence C. Donilon, the spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. He was 74.

Father Mac, as he was known, was the rare fearless and outspoken priest; he was among the first to call for Cardinal Law's resignation at the height of the abuse crisis. Bella English and Don Aucoin of the Globe wrote a series about his parish in 2002, and then Bella wrote a column about him in 2006.

Rev. McLaughlin will lie in state at St. Gerard's from 2 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, with a wake service at 7 p.m. Donilon said. The funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at St. Gerard's.

MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: The obituary, written by John Drake, from this morning's Globe. An excerpt:

"He somehow was able to put himself on our side," said longtime parishioner and parish council member Ann Ackil. "He became very special to all the parishioners after that, because he weathered the storm with us."

(The photo above was shot in 2002 by Suzanne Kreiter of the Globe staff; it shows Rev. McLaughlin at a parish barbecue.)