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.

Members of Maryland Lutheran churches hold up banners calling for action against racism during an interfaith prayer vigil in Baltimore June 3, 2020, to pray for justice and peace following the May 25 death of George Floyd -- an unarmed black man said to have spent several minutes under a Minnesota police officer's knee before becoming unconscious. (CNS photo/Tim Swift, Catholic Review)

Vatican

In Floyd saga, for once Americans aren’t wrong: The Pope is talking about us

John L. Allen Jr.|Jun 6, 2020|5 Min Read

Pope Francis celebrates Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in 2015. (Catholic News Service/Paul Haring)

Voices

‘Laudato Si',’ coronavirus’ latest milestones in papacy’s rapprochement with science

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

Pope Francis gave his blessing from the apostolic palace above an empty St. Peter's Square after the Sunday Regina Coeli, April 26. (Vatican Media/Catholic News Agency)

Voices

Vatican’s financial mess illustrates ambivalence of being a ‘poor Church’

John L. Allen Jr.|May 18, 2020|5 Min Read

Pope John Paul II, in a black ski jacket and hat, prays with a group of skiers before heading down a slope in Italy in 1984. (Catholic News Service/Arturo Mari, L'Osservatore Romano)

Voices

Were Pope John Paul II under quarantine today, he’d be dreaming of the mountains

John L. Allen Jr.|May 13, 2020|5 Min Read

Pope Pius XII in an undated file photo inside Vatican City. (Vatican Media/Catholic News Service)

Voices

New front in ‘Pius Wars’ shows evidence no longer matters on wartime pope

John L. Allen Jr.|May 8, 2020|5 Min Read

Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis processes in an empty Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis for Easter Mass April 12, 2020. (CNS photo/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)

Voices

Financial impact of pandemic on the Church unclear, but likely catastrophic

John L. Allen Jr.|Apr 24, 2020|4 Min Read

Pope Francis looks out during his noon blessing from the window of his studio overlooking an empty St. Peter's Square, due to anti-coronavirus lockdown measures, at the Vatican,, Monday, April 13, 2020. (Andrew Medichini/AP via Crux)

Voices

For Pope Francis, quarantine puts two signature causes in conflict

John L. Allen Jr.|Apr 19, 2020|5 Min Read

Cardinal George Pell speaks to Sky News Australia presenter Andrew Bolt in an exclusive televised interview aired April 14, 2020. (Sky News Australia)

Voices

Whatever happens, we haven’t seen the last of Cardinal George Pell

John L. Allen Jr.|Apr 14, 2020|6 Min Read

Bishop Pierantonio Tremolada of Brescia, Italy, blesses coffins of COVID-19 victims in the cemetery chapel in Brescia March 24, 2020. (CNS photo/Francesca Volpi, KNA)

Voices

Debate over Church’s pandemic measures shouldn’t obscure witness of her heroes

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

In this file photo taken on May 18, 2019, Matteo Salvini holds a rosary as he gives his speech during a rally organized with leaders of other European nationalist parties, ahead of the May 23-26 European Parliamentary elections, in Milan, Italy. (Luca Bruno/AP via Crux)

Voices

As Pope opens Holy Week under lockdown, debate swirls around Easter

John L. Allen Jr.|Apr 6, 2020|5 Min Read

Pope Francis leaves the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican March 18 after a livestream of his weekly general audience. (Catholic News Service/Vatican Media)

Voices

How the coronavirus may reshape Pope Francis’ to-do list

John L. Allen Jr.|Mar 23, 2020|5 Min Read

A cardinal holds a red three-cornered biretta hat before a consistory inside the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia.)

Voices

For idle lockdown hours, a thought experiment: What if there were a conclave now?

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