We can't have unity without sound doctrine. If we give up doctrine it is not real unity.
ABsolutely...sound doctrine--what is the key doctrine of our church? We relive the sacrifice of the lamb and share in the Body blood soul and divinity. There is no compromise. That was the act that started the church...the big battles are mostly about nondoctrinal things as far as I see...
A shocking proportion of people who attend the Novus Ordo do not believe in the Real Presence, even though technically it is still taught. These things you are identifying as non-doctrinal are often the supports of doctrine. Removing the support weakens or destroys the doctrine.
That may be one of the reasons our NO church is so popular--we will not allow any compromise about the real presence and our kids are taught that always....
But yes, who teaches what makes the difference.
But as we fight over hemlines and other such things we lose sight of the important key.
Sometimes people who say they are focusing on what is really important are, in fact, overly spiritualizing the Faith. There is a danger of making it something abstract, a mere list of propositions that we assent to. Faith must be so much more than that. Our Catholic faith is lived in our everyday lives. We express it mundane things like our choice of clothing. These daily decisions and actions are very important.
One of the things that I like best about being a traditional Catholic is the treasure of wisdom from our ancestors on how to live out my Faith every day. All these little customs and traditions that you seem to be dismissing make the dogmas come alive. Most Catholics have been cut off from these things, to some extent because "experts" said they were not important and should not be encouraged. This was one of the most serious mistakes of the post-Vatican II period.