John L. Allen, Jr., is the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and a Vatican analyst for CNN and National Public Radio. He is the author of The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope Was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church and All the Pope's Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks.
For the past several years, Allen has been a popular faculty member at CHA's annual program for system leaders in Rome, providing a frank, astute insider's look at the Roman Curia. His latest book, Megatrends in Catholicism: Ten Forces Turning the Catholic Church Upside Down, will be published in the Spring of 2008.