John L. Allen, Jr. NCR Rome Correspondent

NCR established a reporting base in the heart of Western Christendom when John L. Allen Jr. opened our bureau in Rome in July 2000. Allen's beat includes not only the vast Vatican bureaucracy but also the plethora of religious institutions with headquarters in Rome and -- most importantly -- the assemblage of people who staff all these offices.

Being in Rome also puts Allen in a prime location to cover Eastern and Western Europe as stories there unfold.

Allen joined NCR in 1997 as opinion editor. He is known as a prolific writer. Besides weekly filings for the newspaper, Allen writes a weekly column, The Word from Rome, which is an NCRonline web exclusive. Allen also has written two books, "Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith" in 2001 and "Conclave: The Politics, Personalities, and Process of the Next Papal Election" in 2002.

He can be reached at jallen@natcath.org