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Some way or another (POD isnt important) the Soviets manage to take the Italian peninsula and declare an Italian People's Republic with OTL borders post WW2. The Pope and the Eternal City are obviously going to remain untouched, not even Mussolini's Fascists dared take action against them. (in fact it was Mussolini regime that drew up the treaty that gave the Vatican sovereignty, but that's a different story). The Soviets will likely keep the Pope confined to the Vatican while trying to dismantle the church in the rest of the country (much like they did with the Russian Patriarch, leader of the Orthodox Church). The problem is that much like the Patriarch the Pope chosen will be nothing more than a complacent puppet for the Communists. Do the Allies accept this? Might they declare the Vatican under the occupation of a godless regime and establish a rival seat for the papacy where the Pope could be chosen freely/democratically (the logical place for this is Avignon, France). Or would other action be taken?


TL;DR - Italy goes Communist post WW2, Pope is a Soviet puppet, do the Allies create a rival legitimate papacy to counter the Communist controlled one?
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