WHEN IT COMES TO THE CHURCH AFTER VATICAN II, THE PROBLEM IS PUTTING THE HORIZONTAL OVER THE VERTICAL—OF COURSE IT ISN’T EITHER/OR BUT BOTH/AND BUT IN A HIERARCHY WHERE THE VERTICAL COMES FIRST!

 There are two commentaries very much related, one from Cardinal Fernandez and the other from Bishop Robert Mutsaerts although Mutsaerts’ commentary is very coherent and specific!

Cardinal Fernandez says this according to Infovaticano:

Fernández criticizes the priorities of progressives and conservatives 

"No one is passionate about it": Fernández admits the scant impact of Venite ad me

The prefect attributes the scant interest in the document to the priorities that, in his view, predominate in different ecclesial sectors.

According to Fernández, more progressive bishops pay greater attention to structural changes and dialogue with society, while conservative sectors concentrate especially on the transmission of sexual morality. (My comment: While “conservatives” might seem to focus on sexuality, my experience of “conservatives” is that they focus on the 10 Commandments in general—but indeed, sexuality is vey personal and intimate to their own lives, be it  a grace-filled moment or one of sin and guilt. But it is personal to them, from them, whereas social issues like war and peace, ways to care for the poor and the displaced are other than them and many feel helpless to solve these social problems apart from political affiliations or activism. It’s like the progressives who focus only on things external to them, rather than on Christ who is intimate with them and should be the center.)

The cardinal believes that both orientations relegate the proclamation of Jesus Christ and the personal experience of faith to a secondary place.

In this context, he maintained that Pope Francis’s call to renew the missionary proclamation of the kerygma has not produced significant changes in the pastoral projects of dioceses and movements.

In his opinion, this lack of response explains why the new document has not aroused particular enthusiasm either.

READ THE ENTIRE INFOVATICANO ARTICLE HERE.

Copied from Rorate Caeli, press title or read more for full great, common sense article, common sense so lacking in certain places in the Vatican and in chanceries:

Cardinal Roche's Threatening Language: Do Not Attend the TLM! But Why? The Church Need Not Forbid Its Past to Secure Its Future.

By Bishop Robert Mutsaerts

Auxiliary of ‘s-HertogenboschOctober 24, 2026

The Catholic Church prides (herself) on its universality, cherishes an impressive diversity of liturgical traditions, and regards that diversity as an expression of its riches. A Catholic may attend the divine liturgy according to the Byzantine tradition, the Maronite tradition, the Armenian tradition, or the Chaldean tradition. No one finds this in itself a threat to ecclesial unity. But the moment a Catholic wishes to attend Mass as it was celebrated for centuries in Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, and virtually the entire Latin Church, certain ecclesial authorities in Rome begin to grow uneasy.

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My final comments:

While Bishop Mutsaerts is more specific and coherent about it, Cardinal Fernandez also indicates that focusing in on the horizontal rather than the vertical is the problem in today’s Church. 

When you understand the TLM, you realize that the focus is completely vertical, contemplative and other-worldly where the focus is on Christ—which then leads to the horizontal in the world—love of God and neighbor as the Church teaches the laity should carry out in the world, but the liturgy is other-worldly.

Not so, in many celebrations of the post-Vatican II Bugnini Mass. Often it is celebrated as though it’s a 1960’s Kumbaya Mass. There’s nothing transcendent about it. The problem is the Missal’s ambiguous General Instruction and the manipulation of the scant rubrics and rituals of the Mass by the priest and the laity during its celebration, such as casualness, clowning around and making Mass into a convivial “Sacred Meal” rather than the Holy Sacrifice it is. Revising the Bugnini Mass by giving it the TLM’s Order and rubrics would completely solve that problem without changing the vernacular or any of the prayers of the Mass (except the Introductory Rites). 

Fernandez also indicates that progressive leaning bishops and dioceses think that more meetings, more structure, more talking (all horizontal by the way) are more important than a transcendent encounter with Christ who is the center of one’s life, not meetings! The disconnect for Cardinal Fernandez is that the synodal thingy, that no one likes and few care about, except that it is instrumentalized to make the Catholic Church like the Anglican Communion, is what the Vatican has been promoting for the last 14 years!

But Bishop Mutsaerts hits the nail on the head—Thank you good Bishop!