The Place of Women in the Catholic Church Gerry OShea Every student in a Catholic seminary learns a core principle governing all levels of authority in the church. It is enunciated in Latin to copper fasten its importance: Roma locuta est; causa finita est . When Rome pronounces on any topic touching religion or morality, the case is closed. Still, on October 7 th, 1979, during Pope John Paul 11's papal visit to the United States, Sr. Theresa Kane, daughter of a Galway couple residing in the Bronx, welcomed the pope to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington and then pleaded that the church find ways to fully include women in all its power structures. Sr. Theresa, a Mercy Sister, was speaking as president of the Leadership Conference of Catholic Women, a consequential group with members from nearly all the church orders of nuns in America. She urged the pope, known for his strict adherence to the status quo regarding women’s