The head of the Roman Catholic church in the United States, Cardinal O’Connor, is notorious for his ultra-conservative views on abortion, woman’s role in the church, homosexuality and AIDS. His announcement that homosexuals had themselves to thank for the ‘AIDS plague’ was the last straw for Act Up New York. Just as when at its height, the organisation mobilised thousands of people on 10 December 1989 to besiege O’Connor’s own stronghold, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and to disrupt mass on Sunday, a daring action which went beyond all bounds by American standards and which also provoked controversy among Act Up’s supporters.The documentary which Robert Hilferty made about events focuses on the preparations and the logistic planning of the demonstration.
