John L. Allen Jr., Journalist With Inside Access to the Vatican, Dies at 61
He seemed to know everyone at the Holy See, and it showed in his reporting for the National Catholic Reporter and his website, Crux, though some said he grew too close to his sources.
John L. Allen Jr., a journalist admired for his informed coverage of the Vatican, much of it derived from his extraordinary insider access to the church’s power players that some critics said put him too close to his sources, died on Jan. 22 in Rome. He was 61.
His death, from stomach cancer, at a hospice facility, was announced by the Catholic news website Crux, which he founded.
For 25 years, Catholic Church watchers paid close attention to the reporting that Mr. Allen did, first as the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, and then as the executive editor of Crux and as a columnist for it.
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