Religious obligations, while not an end, are not optional
You can't build a beautiful skyscraper without a foundation. The spiritual life begins with religious obligation – to God and neighbor.... Read More
Articles
Delve beneath the surface on any of the topics featured in Paul’s op-ed columns.
Feel free to take any one of them as a discussion point to begin a dialogue.
New Oxford Book Review
A review of my book "The Devil-ution of Society" – a fun, easy, must-read for those seeking to understand the rapid downfall of our nation.
You can find it at www.amazon.com/Devil-ution-Society-Civilization-Culture-Insanity/dp/B0CR8V5BTM... Read More
What’s Wrong with IVF – In a Nutshell
Want to know what's morally wrong with IVF with a minimal amount of words?... Read More
What Abortion is NOT
Leftist media, especially in this political season, are confusing people by calling 'abortion' acts that are not abortion. It is imperative we understand the difference.... Read More
The Key Inconsistancy in Judaism and Islam
It seems that non-Christian monotheists (Jews, Muslims) have a strong sense of justice on the micro level but not the macro level. This is a bit perplexing. Retaliation and vengeance to make things right have long traditions in these faith communities; but even with this collective sense of justice, the need to properly make things […]... Read More
Pornography — A Public Health Crisis?
Originally published Aug. 2016 in The Valley Patriot When I was growing up I saw Democrats and Republicans switch values on the important cultural issues defining what it means to be human. Democrats were pro-life and supported natural marriage while Republicans were liberal on cultural issues. This changed when Rockefeller Republicanism evolved into Reaganism, […]... Read More
Contraception is the Matter of Mortal Sin
What is the Church’s constant teaching on contraception (artificial birth control)? “You shall not practice birth control, you shall not murder a child by abortion, nor kill what is begotten” ~The Didache, 2, first Christian catechism, written in first century AD “Intercourse even with one’s legitimate wife is unlawful and wicked where the conception of […]... Read More
Can a Catholic in Good Conscience Attend an Invalid Wedding?
One of the more fraught decisions virtually every Catholic must face in the modern era is what to do when invited to the invalid wedding of a family member or friend. And while the attendance decision itself can be excruciating, the moral dilemmas pertaining to addressing and accommodating a loved one who entered a false […]... Read More
Coming ‘Home’?
I‘ve noticed a pattern over the years of Catholic converts using the term ‘Home’ to describe their conversion experience. They’ve “come home,” as so many of them proclaim. Yet, even when they’ve not reverts, and have converted from the non-Catholic denomination in which they were raised, they claim they are now home. Even Scott and […]... Read More
Creation and Evolution: Where Faith and Science Merge
Divine Revelation tells us that God created, and to a certain extent what He created; but did not intend to tell us exactly how or when. That’s for the realm of science and history respectively. With regard to man, the inspired text of Genesis 2:7 can be interpreted as an instantaeous act of God, or […]... Read More
The Psychological Disorientation of ‘Pro-choice’
One fundamental element is missing in those who can’t see that killing the preborn at any stage of development is an abomination. There is nothing in their spirituality enabling them to lift their minds above the limits of time and space in order to interpret it properly. Let’s go beneath the surface. This vision of […]... Read More
The Taylor Swift Phenomenon
As she lights up NFL cameras after every Chiefs touchdown, what’s the real tragedy related to the Taylor Swift Phenom? Read here: https://www.catholic365.com/article/35387/the-taylor-swift-phenomenon.html... Read More
What if God Was One of Us?
Let’s play an imagination game. Let’s imagine that the invisible almighty Creator of the universe, who infinitely transcends the created order of time, space and matter, decided to become part of His creation. Like an author who writes Himself into his own novel, or an artist who paints himself into his own masterpiece, let’s imagine […]... Read More
November to Remember
November to Remember ~ BENEATH THE SURFACE with PAUL MURANO... Read More
Necessity of Evangelization over Politics
With one disappointing election after another, we must admit that after 50 years of cultural decay, attempting to change things through the political process may be futile. Our nation as a whole has rejected Reason (the Logos) and embraced irrational power-driven hypocrisy that seeks to dominate others for one’s own selfish ends. This latter way […]... Read More
The Two Psychological Orientations of Our Age
We all sense it. All you have to do is turn on CNN or MSNBC for 20 seconds on any given night to see it. It’s a fascinating phenomenon that has gripped Western society for several decades: Half the population thinks the other half sees everything upside-down and inside-out. Put another way, today’s world is […]... Read More
Forgive 77 Times?
Sunday’s gospel reading was about forgiveness. A main theme was that since God forgives us, we should never refuse to forgive others. Forgiveness, however, is a bit complex and commonly misunderstood. What does it mean to forgive? Let’s go beneath the surface. First, forgiveness seems to have two related meanings found in Scripture and common […]... Read More
God and Vasectomies
A celebrity woman (whose name doesn’t matter), recently finding out she was pregnant with her fourth child, was quoted in the news as saying, “As you know, I had been telling [my husband] it was probably time to get a vasectomy because I felt like we were done. But I just feel like God always […]... Read More
‘Real’ Difference between Catholicism and Protestantism
Since biblical times the Church has been known as the bride of Christ (cf., Eph 5:21-35). This is an important metaphor for understanding what it means to be Christian. The two elements that create an unbreakable marriage covenant are consent and consummation – when the couple says “I do” with their words, and then with […]... Read More
The Amazing Wonder of Pentecost
Today’s readings for Pentecost Sunday cover the Holy Spirit being released to the world and St. Paul’s preaching that Christ’s baptized followers are members of His body (the Church), because all are in the one Spirit. We can extrapolate that as the soul is the form and life of the body, the Holy Spirit is […]... Read More
Building a Spiritual Second Floor without a Foundation
Every good parent (and good authority figure in general) in the beginning spells out with clarity what the boundaries are. Analogously, when children know the acceptable area on which they can play, they then may be free to play to their heart’s content. The fence around the yard keeps them safe from danger. This is […]... Read More
Why Do We Suffer?
Suffering is a mystery. That doesn't mean we can't apprehend a little on why we suffer - in the midst of being loved an all-good, all-powerful God who cares about us more than we can imagine.... Read More
Why Catholicism is the Only Authentic Expression of Christianity
Click here to read: https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/why-catholicism-is-the-only-auhttps://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/why-catholicism-is-the-only-authentic-expression-of-christianitythentic-expression-of-christianity... Read More
The Importance of Hell
Hearing about Hell is important on many levels. Read why people are much worse off for denying it. ... Read More
Can a Catholic Attend an Invalid Wedding?
What's a Catholic to do when invited to an invalid wedding that begins a life of objective perpetual adultery? ... Read More