Moore attended 11 AM Memorial Weekend mass on Sunday, May 25th, at St. Theresa's Catholic Church in his hometown of Spring Hill, Florida, only to hear the parish deacon read off Memorial Day prayers of the faithful "for [just] American soldiers serving the cause of peace in Iraq." 

Moore wrote to the Bishop on Monday, Memorial Day, that "no mention was made of the innocent Iraqi civilian deaths," estimated by various groups of between 250,000 to over one million dead.   The presidential candidate further criticized the Florida diocese because its various parish Sunday masses conclude with patriotic and nationalist secular songs.

Moore, a practicing Catholic, and former Franciscan seminarian, approached the priest and the deacon after Sunday's mass, in the sacristy, questioning their "omission of praying and remembering the many innocent Iraqi civilians" who have died in the ongoing Iraq war (2003 to present), and for concentrating "just on America military personnel."  Moore said, "Adding insult to injury, the local parish church organ played and the congregation was directed to sing the exit song, America: Land of Liberty."

Moore wrote to the bishop on Memorial Day, referencing a Wikipedia summary,  that the church has to be careful that some nationalist efforts were propagated by fascist movements in the 20th century, while others have attempted to define its nation in terms of race or genetics.  Nationalism claims, according to the internet encyclopedia, that national loyalty overrides local loyalties, and all other loyalties to family, friends, profession, religion, class or "even, in this case," Moore added, "to ethical principles."  

Ironically, the virtual summary indicated that "At least one modern state is clearly not a nation-state:  "Vatican City exists solely to provide a sovereign territorial unit for the Roman Catholic Church."

Moore acknowledges that the Roman Catholic Pope and the American Catholic Bishops, especially in 2002 and 2003, spoke out strongly against the United States of America conducting a pre-emptive strike on Iraq and going to war, especially when there was no imminent threat to America's national security.  However, despite several other references to the church's concern for torture and America's ongoing war, American Catholic leaders "have remained relatively quiet," and their local parishes have either "said nothing," or, in Moore's reference to the Memorial Day service at his parish church, they have "excluded or made minimal reference to the many innocent civilian victims," and have "promoted patriotism and nationalism to a fault!," he said.

The Socialist Party presidential candidate attended an event in Largo, Florida, Memorial Day, sponsored by The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in cooperation with 5 Years of War.com, commemorating the holiday.   The group counted the cost of the war and honored fallen U.S. military personnel and Iraqi civilians together.  The Quaker group provided a traveling exhibition called "Eyes Wide Open" on display at Largo Central Park, Pinellas County, Clearwater, Florida.   Over 170 pairs of American military boots encircled a pile of 250 pairs of children and civilian adult shoes representing the 250 innocent civilians killed in Iraq for every individual American soldier.  Calculations would put the total 612,250 Iraqi civilians that have died. 

Moore participated by publicly reading off the names of over 100 Iraqi civilians, women, children, and men.  Approximately 50 people were in attendance, plus it was overseen by a local police car and plainclothes detective.  An ABC News cameraman was present and interviewed the organizers of the event (photos to follow).            ---END---