I confess

It's about time I owned up – I wrote an article from the Summa Triviæ about ordaining cats that my friend David Schütz posted for me on his blog some time back, before Psallite Sapienter was born.

His introductory note somewhat confuses the origins of it; while Dominicans of my acquaintance do compose such items, the idea of the Summa Triviæ itself comes from another friend of mine, now ordained, who's a great Thomist himself, tho' a secular priest.  He once joked with me about how St Thomas prefaces the Summa Theologiæ by saying he wrote it to be easy, well-ordered and accessible to beginners, leaving out a multitude of irrelevant questions: hence the Summa Triviæ is that fabled collection of all the stuff Aquinas rejected!  So he and I occasionally made up these sort of articles.

Mgr Ronald Knox also did much the same, when composing a little joke once (I forget which book it's in); it's about whether or not worthless items may lawfully be sold at a fête, "for surely a valueless item is not contained within the class of objects subject to vendition", or however he put it.  This also inspired me.

Finally, Ephraem, in despite of Australian Anglican silliness, is credited with ordaining a dog according to their Ordinal upon hearing news that they'd approved female ordination.  

This got me thinking – what about cats?

We all know the present Pope, long may he reign, loves cats...