WI Cardinal Spellman became Pope?

Wolfpaw

Banned
It'd be interesting to see how long they could cover up his homosexuality. If Himmler gets wind of it, he could get Spellman booted out and replaced by a Nazi puppet Pope!:eek:
 
A gay pope, that'd presumably be a first. His predecessor O'Connell was also homosexual IIRC. Question is, would anyone know? Like J. Edna, anyone who asks will have their lives made miserable or be blackmailed.
 
I have also heard it credibly alleged that Spellman routinely abused his positionh to get sexual favors from quite young boys.

I wonder how the Church would cope when the abuse scandal came out with having had Spellman in charge.

I presume that there have been numbers of gay Popes, and also probably some others who had the Jone Kennedy approach to women (though without actually marrying them.)
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
A gay pope, that'd presumably be a first. His predecessor O'Connell was also homosexual IIRC. Question is, would anyone know? Like J. Edna, anyone who asks will have their lives made miserable or be blackmailed.


Not if they've got the power of the Third Reich behind them, they might not...:p

If he does make it through WWII without being outed, you'll see a lot more anti-communist activism on the part of the Church, along with probable Papal sanction (even encouragement) of McCarthysim. Hell, you could even see McCarthy-like inquisitions spring up in heavily Catholic countries due to Church initiatives.:eek:
 
Yes, Cdl. Spellman as pope would be "interesting" (in an unfortunate/scary sense) from a sexuality standpoint. I don't think he would have made it to the papacy, however, for other reasons not related to his pathology. First, I don't think that the Vatican was ready for a new-world Pope, let alone an non-Italian pope. Second, I don't think they'd want to take on a Pope from a major power. It's very unlikely even today that there will be an American Pope in the future. Finally, from what I understand he was a bit of ham and "campaigned" for the job. Maybe that would've turned off the cardinals.
 
Not if they've got the power of the Third Reich behind them, they might not...:p

If he does make it through WWII without being outed, you'll see a lot more anti-communist activism on the part of the Church, along with probable Papal sanction (even encouragement) of McCarthysim. Hell, you could even see McCarthy-like inquisitions spring up in heavily Catholic countries due to Church initiatives.:eek:
McPopey? Maybe blacklisted cardnials!
 
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