Apple Podcasts App: Manual import of RSS feed with password-protected episodes possible?

I understand that the offer of password-protected podcasts within the Apple iTunes universe is not possible, because Apple will not include such podcasts in its regular "portfolio". But regarding the manual import of a podcast feed into the Apple Podcasts app by the user himself, the information is not so clear to me.

When manually imported into the Apple Podcast app, can a RSS feed URL link to a publicly accessible RSS page, where each episode requires authentication via login before download?

My idea is that my target group will manually import the feed once and from then on can see and access the current episodes via the app. A touch/click on each episode could be a deep link to the episode's detail page or to the audio file itself or to the complete RSS feed. It would not be necessary for the audio file to be played in the Apple Podcasts app. The Apple Podcasts app would "only" be used to inform the user about new episodes.

Why this odd request? My podcast contains information for a professional audience that cannot be made available without authentication due to legal requirements in my country. And the market research says that most potential listeners only use the Apple Podcast App to manage their podcasts.

Thank you very much for any help and suggestion!