John L. Allen

John L. Allen Jr. is the prize-winning Vatican writer formerly with the National Catholic Reporter, a U.S. Catholic weekly.

In 2000, Allen established the Rome office of the National Catholic Reporter. From that position, he broke stories on Rome's response to the American sexual abuse crisis, the Vatican's opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, the death of John Paul II and the election of Benedict XVI, and a wide variety of other important Vatican events.

In the summer of 2006, Allen returned to the United States, allowing him to expand his coverage of both the American church and the global Catholic scene, while continuing to keep his eye on Rome.

Allen is the author of many books on the Catholic Church, including All the Pope's Men, The Rise of Benedict XVI, Opus Dei, and A People of Hope, and serves as senior Vatican analyst for CNN. Allen now serves as president of Crux Catholic Media Inc.