A method of making an absorbent cellulosic sheet with increased wet/dry cross machine direction tensile ratio, the method comprising: preparing an aqueous furnish consisting essentially of cellulosic papermaking fibers in an aqueous suspension having a consistency of greater than 2 percent; treating the aqueous furnish having a consistency of greater than 2 percent with from about 5 lbs of debonder per ton of papermaking fiber to about 30 lbs of debonder per ton of papermaking fiber (about 2.5 kg of debonder per mton of papermaking fiber to about 15 kg of debonder per mton of papermaking fiber); subsequent to the step of treating the aqueous furnish with the debonder, adding a permanent wet strength resin to the aqueous furnish in an amount of from about 5 lbs of permanent wet strength resin per ton of papermaking fiber to about 50 lbs of permanent wet strength resin per ton of papermaking fiber (about 2.5 kg of permanent wet strength resin per mton of papermaking fiber to about 25 kg of permanent wet strength resin per mton of papermaking fiber); diluting the aqueous furnish to a consistency of less than the consistency at which the aqueous furnish was treated with debonder; depositing the diluted aqueous furnish onto a foraminous support that is traveling in a machine direction at a wire speed by way of a jet of the diluted aqueous furnish having a jet velocity in the machine direction; dewatering the furnish on the foraminous support to form a nascent web; wet-pressing the nascent web onto a rotating cylinder; and drying the web to produce the cellulosic sheet, wherein the steps of dewatering, wet-pressing, and drying the web, as well as the jet to wire velocity delta, are controlled, and the furnish, the debonder, and the permanent wet strength resin are selected and utilized in amounts such that the absorbent cellulosic sheet has a wet/dry CD tensile ratio of greater than 30 percent. preparing an aqueous furnish consisting essentially of cellulosic papermaking fibers in an aqueous suspension having a consistency of greater than 2 percent; treating the aqueous furnish having a consistency of greater than 2 percent with from about 5 lbs of debonder per ton of papermaking fiber to about 30 lbs of debonder per ton of papermaking fiber (about 2.5 kg of debonder per mton of papermaking fiber to about 15 kg of debonder per mton of papermaking fiber); subsequent to the step of treating the aqueous furnish with the debonder, adding a permanent wet strength resin to the aqueous furnish in an amount of from about 5 lbs of permanent wet strength resin per ton of papermaking fiber to about 50 lbs of permanent wet strength resin per ton of papermaking fiber (about 2.5 kg of permanent wet strength resin per mton of papermaking fiber to about 25 kg of permanent wet strength resin per mton of papermaking fiber); diluting the aqueous furnish to a consistency of less than the consistency at which the aqueous furnish was treated with debonder; depositing the diluted aqueous furnish onto a foraminous support that is traveling in a machine direction at a wire speed by way of a jet of the diluted aqueous furnish having a jet velocity in the machine direction; dewatering the furnish on the foraminous support to form a nascent web; wet-pressing the nascent web onto a rotating cylinder; and drying the web to produce the cellulosic sheet,