School on its own

I READ the centrepiece (Gazette, 7 October) concerning Catholic education in the Pakenham region.
It was an admirable piece but the inclusion of St Thomas Aquinas School in Tynong could lead to a misunderstanding among readers. I would like to clarify the position of the Society of St Pius X, which conducts St Thomas Aquinas School.
Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior of the Society of Pius X, a schismatic priestly society, met Pope Benedict on 22 August at the Pope’s summer residence.
Bishop Fellay was one of the four bishops ordained against a papal order in 1988.
This schismatic group, founded by Archbishop Lefebvre, and which rejected many Vatican council decisions, is now led by Bishop Fellay. He met the Pope at his request “marked with the desire to reach perfect communion” with the Catholic Church.
The people in the Diocese of Sale welcome this initiative of Bishop Fellay and pray for the resolution of the major problems that divide the Catholic Church and the Society of Pius X.
The school of St Thomas Aquinas at Tynong is not a Catholic school under the auspices of the Bishop of Sale and is not part of the Catholic system of schools.
The parish and church of Corpus Christi (Bunyip) is not part of the Diocese of Sale and is not conducted by the priests of the diocese.
The Society of St Pius X is a schismatic group, separated from the Catholic Church, which is under the leadership of Pope Benedict.
Jeremiah Coffey,
Bishop of Sale.