Dutch bishop tells Catholics to leave parishes with irreverent Masses

Bishop Robert Mutsaerts has told Catholics who attend parishes with irreverent Novus Ordo Masses to find a Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or another more reverent liturgy instead of trying to change their own parish. He made the comments on October 3 in an interview with LifeSite, after taking part in the 2026 Catholic Identity Conference in Pittsburgh.

Mutsaerts, a conservative bishop in the Netherlands who says he celebrates only the Novus Ordo Mass, said there is no point in trying to improve parishes where the liturgy is poor. "If there is a bad Novus Ordo Mass, you cannot improve those priests, I am afraid. So just go somewhere else," he said. Lay Catholics, he said, should look for places where their own faith and their families' faith find real spiritual nourishment.

A changed view of the local parish

Mutsaerts said his position has changed. He once encouraged the faithful to support their home parish; now he warns that staying there can cost them their faith. "Go where you think: this is right, this is authentic, this is true," he said.

He moved from defending loyalty to one's home parish to warning that remaining there can be spiritually harmful when the liturgy falls short.

Community and young people

Mutsaerts said young people need places where they encounter the sacred and a well-ordered liturgy. "You need a bit of encouragement from your parish community, and you do not get it if you are 18 and all the other parishioners are 80," he said. He said there is a need to create settings that support the faith of younger generations.

That generational gap, he said, makes it harder for young people to stay committed when the atmosphere in the community does not encourage them to take part in liturgical life.