John Allen is the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and a Vatican analyst for CNN and National Public Radio. He has also reported for the BBC and will appear in a BBC documentary on Opus Dei later this year. Considered by many as the single best source of insights on Vatican affairs in the English language, (particularly through his internet column "The Word from Rome"), he is the author of four books on the Catholic Church, including All the Pope's Men: The Inside Story of how the Vatican Really Thinks (2004) and Conclave: The Politics, Personalities, and Process of the Next Papal Election (1992). His new book, Opus Dei: Secrets and Power Inside the Catholic Church, will be published this autumn. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and many other publications.