Stop the Church was a demonstration organized by members of AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) on December 10, 1989, that disrupted a Mass being said by Cardinal John O'Connor at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. One-hundred and eleven protesters were arrested, 53 of whom were arrested inside the church. The main objective of the demonstration was to protest O'Connor's opposition to the teaching of safe sex in the public school system, and his opposition to the distribution of condoms to curb the spread of AIDS. During planning, the protest was joined by Women's Health Action and Mobilization (WHAM!), who opposed the Catholic position on abortion rights. The protest was condemned in media editorials and by national figures such as President George H. W. Bush, and was controversial in the gay community. The protest, and especially the desecration of the Eucharist, made headline news in the US and several European countries. The protest was a major effort for ACT-UP. Background ACT UP opposed the public position of the church on condom use and safe sex education to control the spread of AIDS, and identified pronouncements such as O'Connor's statement that "Good morality is good medicine" as harmful. The protest was organized following a meeting of senior clergy where they had reinforced doctrine opposing the use of condoms. ACT UP nicknamed the cleric "Cardinal O'Condom." They also opposed the church's anti-abortion position. In the 1980s, O'Connor wielded a great deal of power in both the church and in society at large. WHAM! subsequently joined the protest, swelling its numbers and adding the issue of abortion rights. Protest Stop the Church was held on December 10, 1989, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. The idea had originated with ACT UP members Vincent Gagliostro and Victor Mendolia. Cardinal John O'Connor was celebrating a Mass attended by Mayor Ed Koch and other political leaders. Koch and the other dignitaries attended as a sign of support to O'Connor. The protesters had indicated in advance that they planned to protest. While pretending to be church ushers, some handed out flyers explaining why they would disrupt the service to those entering the catherdral. The crowd outside grew to 4,500 people. The demonstrators stood outside the cathedral shouting and raising placards that read "Eternal life to Cardinal O'Connor now," "Know your scumbags," "Curb your dogma," "Papal Bull," and the like. Some tried to