Roma locuta est; causa finita est. Rome has spoken; the cause is finished. Non-Catholics typically don't see the force of this famous expression, and sometimes Catholics don't either. Two major cases in point might prompt some to rethink their indifference.

The problems facing the Anglican Communion illustrate the perils for non-Catholics. As Cardinal Walter Kasper pointed out in an unusually frank address at Lambeth, the Anglican communion has to decide whether its origins and guiding principles are apostolic or merely Protestant. See Roman Catholic Reflections on the Anglican Communion.