The election of Cardinal Giuseppe Siri, Archbishop of Genoa, as pope in October 1958 in the conclave held after the death of Pope XII would have had significant consequences for the Catholic Church and more widely. I don't believe in the Siri Thesis ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siri_Thesis ) which claims that Siri was actually elected Pope, but following heavy pressure from trhe liberal faction among the cardinals and threats from the Kremlin, he was persuaded to step aside.
Siri had staunchly conservative views, so if he were pope there would have been no Second Vatican Council and none of the changes in Catholic liturgy which were authorised by that council and subsequent decrees of the Vatican.
Assuming that he lived until May 2, 1989 as he did in OTL, and did not resign the papacy, the election of Karol Wojtyla would most probably not have happened, with all the consequences in relation to the ending of communism in Poland and Eastern Europe.
Siri had staunchly conservative views, so if he were pope there would have been no Second Vatican Council and none of the changes in Catholic liturgy which were authorised by that council and subsequent decrees of the Vatican.
Assuming that he lived until May 2, 1989 as he did in OTL, and did not resign the papacy, the election of Karol Wojtyla would most probably not have happened, with all the consequences in relation to the ending of communism in Poland and Eastern Europe.