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Your challenge is to make Catholics (those who at least nominally owe spiritual allegiance to the Roman Pontiff) more than 50% of the world population.

Must haves:
  • Catholic Church must still be a hierarchical organization with a clearly defined central leadership
  • The leader must still claim to be the Vicar of Christ and successor to St. Peter
  • The central leadership must be sovereign in its own right (owing no allegiance to any temporal power)
Ideals:
  • Church HQ still in Rome
  • One or more native empires in the Americas survive and become Catholic monarchies in their own right
  • The Asian giants China, India, and Japan largely remain with their pre-existing traditions, so the easy way of converting these countries is closed.
Challenges:
  • Eastern Orthodox reunite with Rome
  • More native African kingdoms like Kongo are recognized as Catholic monarchies on an equal basis with European ones
  • Protestant Reformation either averted through internal reforms, or total Catholic victory during religious wars, or Protestants becoming a marginal sect
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