John L. Allen Jr.

Crux Now

John L. Allen Jr. was the editor of Crux, specializing in coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church, and the Rome correspondent for Angelus from 2016 to 2025.

Latest by John L. Allen Jr.

New U.S. Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick kisses Pope John Paul II after he received the red biretta during a consistory ceremony in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Feb. 21, 2001. (CNS photo/Vincenzo Pinto, Reuters)

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If a legacy is tainted by McCarrick report, it’s clericalist culture

John L. Allen Jr.|Nov 13, 2020|6 Min Read

In this Jan. 10, 2018 file photo made available the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, retired archbishop of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen greets Pope Francis at the end of his weekly general audience in Paul VI, at the Vatican. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP via Crux)

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Is this the end of the College of Cardinals as a polite society?

John L. Allen Jr.|Oct 20, 2020|5 Min Read

A woman wearing a protective mask is pictured in a file photo using hand sanitizer at a church in Naples, Italy, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, president of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union, said he expects that even after the pandemic, "the number of people who come to church will diminish." (CNS photo/Salvatore Laporta, Kontrolab, IPA, ABACAPRESS.COM via Reuters)

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As Brooklyn fights Mass restrictions, Europe makes a separate peace

John L. Allen Jr.|Oct 16, 2020|5 Min Read

Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher. (CNS photo/Maxim Guchek, BelTA handout via Reuters)

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Pope’s top diplomat says gist of new encyclical is simple: ‘No time to go it alone’

John L. Allen Jr.|Oct 7, 2020|4 Min Read

In this photo taken on March 27, 2020, Pope Francis, figure in white standing alone at center, delivers an Urbi et orbi prayer from the empty St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican. (Yara Nardi/Pool Photo via AP)

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'Fratelli Tutti' tries to shed light on a dark time

John L. Allen Jr.|Oct 4, 2020|6 Min Read

Left: John Kerry (LUKE FRAZZA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES.) Right: Joe Biden. (SHUTTERSTOCK)

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Comparing 2004 and 2020 a reminder that much has changed, and much hasn’t

John L. Allen Jr.|Sep 14, 2020|5 Min Read

Pope Francis boards the papal plane from Rome, Italy, to travel to Kenya, Africa, during his first apostolic visit to the country on Nov. 25, 2015. (L'Osservatore Romano)

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‘New normal’ of COVID era may mean fewer papal trips on a smaller scale

John L. Allen Jr.|Sep 3, 2020|5 Min Read

Pope Francis visits the Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul Nov. 29, 2014. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

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Why Pope Francis may be content with a supporting role over Hagia Sophia

John L. Allen Jr.|Jul 30, 2020|5 Min Read

The dome of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican is seen through a window of Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome in this 2018 file photo. (CNS photo/Ahmed Jadallah, Reuters)

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On Vatican’s parish tome, it’s about the conversation, not the contents

John L. Allen Jr.|Jul 22, 2020|5 Min Read

Young people look at closed pizza and pasta restaurant near the Vatican in Rome June 9, 2020. The sign on the once-busy shop that catered to tourists says, "Without government help, we cannot reopen. Thousands of employees at risk." (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

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Coronavirus underlines risk of trust deficits, also for the Vatican

John L. Allen Jr.|Jul 7, 2020|5 Min Read

Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals baseball team. (Shutterstock)

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A lesson for the Church from an improbable source: Baseball

John L. Allen Jr.|Jul 1, 2020|5 Min Read

Korean American Christian evangelists demonstrate near the Statue of Liberty June 7, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. (CNS photo/Ed Wilkinson, The Tablet)

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How the Church can evangelize by example on racial justice

John L. Allen Jr.|Jun 11, 2020|5 Min Read