alternatehistory.com

At first I was going to put this in the ASB forum, but I put it here just in case someone could figure out how to do it without ASBs. My idea is that a reformer (Martin Luther or a Luther-analog) ends up as Pope. I'm thinking that maybe Martin Luther and the early protestant reformers work for change within the Catholic Church, rather than splitting from it. Of course, this would require a more tolerant Pope (or series of Popes) that doesn't just excommunicate all of the reformers. This movement grows for a while, and culminates with a reform-minded (OTL protestant) Pope who reforms Catholic doctrines and traditions. The result is a united church with Catholic structure (Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, etc.) and a more Evangelical Protestant theology (sola fide, sola scriptura, etc.). Is this even plausible? What would be the best POD for such a scenario? What would the effect on history be?
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