News that the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) intends to ordain 23 priests in late June caused the Vatican to issue a statement on Wednesday saying that the ordinations will not be legitimate. The statement from the Vatican made reference to the Holy Father’s “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church” from last March. The letter states, “As long as the Society (of St. Pius X) does not have a canonical status in the Church, its ministers do not exercise legitimate ministries in the Church.” The status of the SSPX within the Catholic Church remains in question because it has previously rejected certain portions of some key Vatican II documents.