They called themselves Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War and described the red substance they used as “stage blood.” After some gasps and terrified yelps that shocked the audience of 600 worshipers attending the homily delivered by Cardinal Francis George, they were escorted from the auditorium.

According to the Associated Press, Chicago native Mike Wainscott, who was attending Mass, yelled at the anti-war protesters.

“Are you happy with yourselves?” he said. "There were kids in there. You scared little kids with your selfish act. Are you happy now?" The group said the place chosen for the protest was the Holy Name Cathedral on Easter because the audience was large, starting from Catholic citizens to press members, numerous viewers and readers of the local press. 

After this protest, all six people were charged with felony criminal damage to property and two counts of simple battery for squirting blood around the auditorium, authorities said.

Kevin Clark of International Solidarity Movement attended the service and said, according to the Chicago Tribune, “if Cardinal George is a man of peace and is walking the walk and talking the talk, he should have confronted George Bush and demanded an immediate end to the war.”

As a response for the protest, the cardinal said the Catholic Church is against the war, but the moment of the Eastern mass in Holy Cathedral is not the place to protest against Iraq war.