Perhaps not the Marines storming the Vatican, but it was a not so subtle threat of coercion.

Interesting. A little tid-bit of history I didn't know.

Isn't the Church already somewhat fractured? As I recall, there are at least two popes today. The one in the Vatican is the best known, but isn't there a splinter someplace else (like Istanbul) that insists they have the "real" pope? I'm not sure an Avignon Papacy would carry much weight, though there would be entertainment value if the Felon tried to establish one. He'd appoint himself pope, of course.

Henry VIII broke away because he wanted a divorce (mostly). But it didn't really displace the current pope, it instead created an entirely new religious hierarchy (the Anglicans).

It's sad when facetiousness (about the Marines) could be reality. I really wouldn't put such an action past the Felon.