P.O.V. {POINT OF VIEW}: STOP THE CHURCH {ACT UP PROTEST AT ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL} (TV)

Summary

This program documents a large-scale ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) demonstration at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on December 10, 1989, including the preparation and aftermath of the protest. The demonstration challenged John Cardinal O'Connor's and the Catholic Church's positions on abortion, AIDS, and the rights of gays and lesbians. The documentary begins with a look at various preparatory meetings for the protest, in which ACT UP members air their views about which issues should be targeted, debate whether the protesters should disrupt a Mass, and discuss the various printed materials to be posted and distributed. Following is footage of the protest, which includes picketing on Fifth Avenue and disturbances during the cathedral's Mass, which demonstrators disrupt with verbal protests and by lying down in aisles. Finally, parishioners are interviewed as they exit the Mass and gay rights activist Ann Northrop describes the protest as a success.

Cataloging of this program was made possible by Blake Byrne.

Details

NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
DATE: September 13, 1991 11:35 PM
RUNNING TIME: 0:23:00
COLOR/B&W: Color
CATALOG ID: T:33785
GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
SUBJECT HEADING: Abortion - Religious aspects; AIDS (disease); Catholic Church - public opinion; Demonstrations; Gays; Lesbians; Pro-choice movement; LGBT Collection
SERIES RUN: WNET (New York, NY) - TV, 1991
COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

Robert Hilferty … Producer, Director, Camera
Ann Northrop
John Cardinal O'Connor