Pope JFK

Jack Kennedy has a religious awakening after surviving WW2 and wants to abandon his sins. He studies to become a priest and due to his families prestige rises the ranks very fast. His brother Joe wins the presidency but eventually looses against Richard Nixon who reigns for eight years straight and again after the interim presidency of president Agnew another term (wich had been more than controversial). In 1978 at the tender age of 61 Jack becomes pope in a very close race between him and a certain unknown Polish cardinal named Karol W. Quite against the naming conventions Kennedy calls himself now Pope Patricius I. after the Saint of Ireland. His younger brother Ted also is now a high ranking bishop and is one of Jacks most trusted servants. In 1981 also Robert Kennedy, after 20 years Republican rule, finally becomes US-President and meets with his famous brother on international stage. Jokingly they tell the journalists that their meeting is merely a family reunion. After their mother is questioned wheather she is more proud of her Pope or her President-son she responds very quickly: "I´m proud of both iof them, but Iam still not shure about Jack´s robe. A suit fits him better." The meeting is also attended by a certain young Arkansas governor named Clinton.
In 1995 Ted is made a cardinal and it is speculated, that he eventually succeeds his severely ill brother. There is also some anger in the Vatican among Italian clergy regarding the "Yankee-Irishmen-connection". In 1997 Pope Kennedy dies at age 80 in a Roman hospital. His legacy includes the calmful way he responded to international crisis at the end of the Cold War aswell his condemtion of IRA-actions. Some conservative clergy criticize his legacy as to liberal and question his real believes regarding the Dogma.
Shortly after the death of Patricius, Cardinal Ted Kennedy is elected the new Pope with President Clinton sending his "warm regards". Surprisingly he calls himself Pope John Paul II. to honor the pope, that died so early in 1978.
 
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I'm tempted to say that this is in the realm of "If Hitler wasn't an anti-semite...", ie. a JFK who who eschews politics is a totally different man from the one we know. Though I suppose you could argue that Vatican ascendancy is a form of politics, and if old Joe were determined to pull strings to get his kids into power, somewhere, anywhere, the scenario counts as an organic diversion from OTL.

A president and two popes from the same family is pretty close to space-bats, though.
 
The only American families that went to high places in both the Church and government would be:

John Dulles, Secretary of State
Allen Dulles, Director Central Intelligence
Avery Dulles, S.J., Cardinal

And going back much farther:

Charles Carroll, only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence
John Carroll, first Catholic bishop of/in the US

The politics of the Church is such that what makes for success in modern democratic politics really doesn't translate at all to ecclesiastical politics. It is both more like climbing the ladder of a beurocracy or the personal politics of feudalism or even the politics of academic institutions. Popular elective politics is a very different animal.

In any case JFK is probably disabled by the end of the 1960s and dead by the 1970s, he had some very major health problems that were going to get worse.

Also, given the Kennedy family fondness for sexual escapades and related foolishness, I don't see the Kennedy family going high in the Church ending well. Imagine if along with the child abuse scandals you add in a scandal about papal mistresses and perhaps Ted leaves a girl to drown in the Tiber this time... Yikes.

Also, old Joe for all his alleged influence in the world, would not even begin to have the right influence for this. Families were known to spend centuries building the influence needed to gain the papacy. It isn't easy to do.

Also, American Pope just isn't happening. I consider the odds of an American Pope in next 100 years to be less than 1 in 1000. Even with the more diverse College of Cardinals of the current times. At the time Kennedy would need to be considered the old Italian block was still very strong and the college was utterly dominated by European Cardinals.

Heck, the Church names "Americanism" as an actual heresy, so doubt we will be getting an American Pope.
 
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