John L. Allen Jr. is the prize-winning Senior Correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and the Senior Vatican Analyst for CNN. He’s the author of five best-selling books on the Vatican and Catholic affairs, and writes frequently on the Church for major national and international publications.

The London Tablet has called Allen “the most authoritative writer on Vatican affairs in the English language.” His work is admired across ideological divides; liberal commentator Fr. Andrew Greeley calls his writing “indispensable,” while conservative Fr. Richard John Neuhaus calls Allen’s reporting “possibly the best source of information on the Vatican published in the United States.” His weekly internet column, “All Things Catholic,” is widely read as a source of insight on the global Church.

Allen’s current project is Mega-Trends in Catholicism: Ten Forces Turning the Catholic Church Upside Down, a survey of the most important currents shaping the future of Catholicism. John divides his time between Rome and his home in Denver, Colorado.

Books:

Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican’s Enforcer of the Faith (Continuum, 2000)
Conclave: The Politics, Personalities and Process of the Next Papal Election (Doubleday, 2002)
All The Pope’s Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks (Doubleday, 2004)
The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope was Elected and What it Means for the Catholic Church (Doubleday, 2005)
Opus Dei: An Objective Look behind the Myth and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church (Doubleday, 2005)
Mega-Trends in Catholicism: Ten Forces Turning the Catholic Church Upside Down (Doubleday, forthcoming)
 
Allen has been profiled in various national and international publications. Here’s a piece from Newsweek.