The nuns are acting as sacristans before High Mass – but they are doing the duties that rightfully belong to men, the Altar Boys.

The key phrase here is "If they are sacristans." There is no tradition in the Church that has women, even "Brides Of Christ," ordinarily performing these functions. In the "Traditional" Church, women are assigned to perform functions that men ordinarily perform ONLY in the absence of men who can perform them. When the Sisters arrived, St. Thomas Becket had a very good male sacristan, who was doing an admirable job, who was relieved of his keys so that the Sisters could take over. That was not only rude, it was a violation of Church.

In cloistered communities, where men are not allowed, and where even the male Priest is separated from the women by a screen, the women ought to perform the Sacristan function because there is a marked absence of men. The special case does not, in any way, apply to the general.

Can it possibly be that the SSPX has been laying aside this one tradition of the Church? Keep in mind that the SSPX was built in a social atmosphere wherein "Feminism" had already taken firm root. It is understandable that, somewhere along the line, someone said to himself, "We have to give the Sisters something important to do so that they'll know we think they are important."

There is no law against "Jumping Off Cliffs". One does not usually encounter a law where it is not needed. The fact that Cannon Law does not forbid it does not mean that it is something that ought to be done. And I think that Tradition, wherein women are never assigned these duties, should count for something. I invite anyone to find in the writings of the Fathers, or in the Traditional practices of the Church, or even in Catholic Fiction before the Council, where women, even Brides Of Christ, are given these duties to perform. Any takers? These kind of debates belong in the Novus Ordo, not in the Traditional Catholic Church…